These materials are from an April 5, 2007, and June 28, 2007, TA web conference hosted by the National Quality Center (NQC) for all Ryan White Program grantees on improving Pap completion rates, a new HIV/AIDS Bureau (HAB) quality initiative. During this session, HAB Deputy Associate Administrator Laura W. Cheever, MD, ScM, discussed the importance of the initiative. Other distinguished presenters Gina Brown, MD, and Maryann Pietrowski, NP, shared technical knowledge as well as successful improvement strategies to increase the rates for cervical cancer screening for HIV-infected women.

The three presentations from the April 5 call, available here, include:

• Welcome and Cheever Comments
• Engaging HIV+ Women in Gynecological Care - Pietrowski
• Screening for Cervical Cancer - G Brown

During the June 28 session, the importance of this initiative was reviewed with talking points to engage HRSA Project Officers in a discussion of what grantees are currently doing. NQC shared how to move from data to action to improvement, as well as examples of what peers have done to improve Pap test completion rates. The webconference also included a presentation from staff from Christiana Care Health Services, who shared their best practices and lessons learned.

The presentations and materials from the June 28 call, available here, include:

• Overview and Purpose of HAB’s Initiative
• Improving Cervical Cancer Screening Rates
• Example from the Field: Christiana Care Health Services
• Talking Points for POs Regarding Paps

HAB's goal is for all patients to receive optimal HIV care each and every time they access care and treatment services. This new quality initiative is about using data to identify areas for improvement and then taking steps to make those improvements happen. Each HAB program and division will undertake strategies and improvement cycles to bring our completion rates in line with Healthy People 2010 objectives. This initiative strives to meet several objectives. Its primary objective is to increase the completion rate of of cervical cancer screening by all grantees managing HIV care.

Additional objectives of the initiative include:

• Raise the awareness of PHS guidelines on screening and need to improve current rates
• Increase the capacity of providers to provide and document Pap Cervical Cancer Screening tests
• Train Project Officers to facilitate improvement
• Improve the quality of data submissions
• Provide technical assistance and training on how to do this
• Apply lessons learned here to other service areas.

Current data indicates that of 785 medical providers that shared data:

• The top 25% had a Pap completion rate of 59%
• The lowest 25% had a Pap completion rate of 18%
• The average pap smear completion rate was 40%

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), recommends that the Pap test be completed twice during the first year after diagnosis of HIV infection and annually thereafter, if the results are normal. HAB aims to use Pap tests as a way of learning how to examine an issue (using data) and explore ways to make an impact. Lessons learned from this process can then be applied to other issues for improvement.

Download the file for full instructions.

**Please note that the downloadable tool file is in ZIP format, and contains seven PowerPoint files. Windows XP will automatically open the ZIP file; for other operating systems a tool like WinZip (or other free alternatives) should be used.

The ZIP file is large so it may take a while to download.