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Objectives. To examine the extent to which the AIDS Education and Training Centers (AETCs) are increasing the number and racial/ethnic diversity of HIV medical providers, in accordance with the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy (NHAS).
Methods. We used administrative data from funding year 2012-2013 to describe AETC trainee characteristics, including the types of medical providers trained, compared with national estimates of available US medical providers to estimate the proportion of providers trained for every 1000 available providers by professional group and race/ ethnicity.
Results. AETCs trained 56 127 unique trainees, of whom 64.1% were medical providers and 45.5% were racial/ethnic minorities. Compared to national proportions, participation in AETC training was higher among racial/ethnic minorities. The proportions of racial/ethnic minority groups trained differed across regional AETCs.
Conclusions. AETCs support NHAS goals by expanding the HIV medical workforce and strengthening the skills of minority medical providers to deliver high quality HIV care.
Public Health Implications. Some AETCs made greater contributions to training different types of racial/ethnic minorities, which indicates varied approaches are needed to best target these efforts in communities heavily impacted by HIV. (Am J Public Health. 2016;106:2190-2193. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303451)
There is a shortage of medical providers able to care for people with HIV; this shortage is expected to worsen as many near retirement.1 HIV programs are also experiencing difficulty recruiting HIV medical providers, particularly among racial/ethnic minorities.1 African Americans, Latinos, and American Indian/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) are underrepresented among available medical providers2 4 and among providers serving people living with HIV.1 This shortage is highlighted as a key issue in the National HIV/AIDS Strategy, which calls for increasing the number and racial/ethnic diversity of available HIV medical providers.5 This shift may improve patient linkage to and retention in care because patients of raceconcordant providers report receiving better interpersonal care, which results in greater medical comprehension, the acceptance of appropriate medical care, and a greater likelihood of keeping follow-up appointments.3,4,6 These findings are significant because racial/ethnic minorities disproportionately care for minority communities, which are heavily affected by HIV and less optimally engaged across the HIV care continuum.7
Although HIV-serving racial/ethnic medical providers report lower knowledge of HIV care and treatment,8 education and training can prepare these medical providers to deliver high-quality HIV care.9-11 The national AIDS Education and...