Grasso leads technical team's response to HHS HIV/AIDS Bureau an...( HOBOKEN N.J. Dr. S. Vincent Grasso...),Health

HOBOKEN, N.J. Dr. S. Vincent Grasso, a member of the Stevens Healthcare Information Technology Management Advisory Board was selected to lead the technical team on a $5-million dollar grant application to develop a HIPAA compliant, web-based data entry and reporting platform.

The grant was submitted to the Health Research Services Administration for the creation of an Evaluation and Technical Assistance Center for HIV Women of Color. The grant proposal brings together a broad range of subject matter experts from clinical and academic medicine, research, technology, finance and public policy.

Citing President Barack Obama's vision of improving quality healthcare to all Americans, the team is responding to a call from the Department of Health and Human Services' HIV/AIDS Bureau.

The issue is of particular importance, the group says, based on recent HIV data released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the August 2008 report:

• Women accounted for 26 percent of the estimated 37,163 diagnoses for adults and adolescents.
• Of the 126,964 women living with HIV/AIDS, 64 percent were black, 19 percent were white, 15 percent were Hispanic, 1 percent were Asian or Pacific Islander, and less than 1 percent were American Indian or Alaska Native.
• The rate of AIDS diagnosis for black women (45.5/100,000 women) was approximately 23 times the rate for white women (2.0/100,000) and four times the rate for Hispanic women (11.2/100,000).
• An estimated 95,959 women were living with AIDS, representing 23% of the estimated 421,873 people living with AIDS in the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The 2005 census showed that black and Hispanic women represent 24 percent of all US women. However, women in these two groups accounted for 82 percent of the estimated total of AIDS diagnoses for women. Risk factors involved in this trend include but are not limited to a younger age at
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