Beginning in September 1999, CityMatCH has been one of several national organizations funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention to advance the prevention of perinatal HIV transmission. As part of this effort, CityMatCH has provided education and training to multiple urban community teams as they planned and implemented perinatal HIV prevention initiatives.

To guide the work of these community teams, CityMatCH developed a product series entitled MAPS (Mapping AIDS Prevention Strategies). MAPS exercises were conducted during on-site meetings and were designed to build team integration and action for systems-level prevention within participating communities.

To assist additional communities in their efforts to prevention perinatal HIV transmission, all 10 of the CityMatCH-developed MAPS exercises have been packaged together. In the paragraphs that follow, we provide an overview of the MAPS process as well as some general information and advice on each exercise.

Although each MAPS exercise is unique, all 10 exercises share a common process. To complete a MAPS exercise, a community team first reviews the exercise and then works through the required steps collectively C the conversations and emerging relationships are often just as valuable as the end product. The majority of MAPS exercises result in the identification of additional prevention opportunities to be seized or prevention barriers to be overcome. In this sense, the MAPS exercises are a planning tool that can be used to guide local effort. MAPS exercises have been broadly defined by two phases, both are described below.

MAPS I-VI. These MAPS exercises represent a continuous planning process that can be used by communities over an 18-24 month period. During the planning process, community teams consider how transmission occurs locally, analyze prevention strengths and weaknesses, plan Opportunities for Impact, and address local hard-to-reach populations.

• MAPS I C Teams consider how perinatal HIV transmission occurs in their community.
• MAPS II C Teams are asked to generate a list of strengths and barriers they face in preventing perinatal HIV transmission locally.
• MAPS III C Teams build upon the work completed in MAPS II, creating a one-page graphic representation of their community's perinatal HIV prevention effort.
• MAPS IV C Teams reach consensus on one to three immediate opportunities for prevention impact and develop a strategic plan for local action.
• MAPS V C Teams map their local perinatal HIV prevention activities and accountability structures within the health department and community before creating a plan for better integrating MCH, HIV, public, and private systems for more effective perinatal HIV prevention.
• MAPS VI C Teams create an action plan for reaching the hardest to reach women in their community for perinatal HIV prevention.

By the conclusion of MAPS I-VI, community teams should be actively pursuing a team-developed perinatal HIV prevention strategy tailored to the unique circumstances found in their community. They should also be sharing and exchanging information and resources across departments and organizations.

MAPS VII-X. These MAPS exercises help community teams to address important aspects of perinatal HIV prevention, including sustainability. Throughout the course of MAPS VII-X, teams should continue to pursue their individual strategies developed in MAPS I-VI and add additional projects and capacities specific to the topic areas covered in MAPS VII-X as they are ready/able. Topics covered in these exercises reflect local and national policy, data, and prevention priorities, such as national HIV testing recommendations and the implementation of rapid HIV testing in labor and delivery units.

• MAPS VII C Teams create a problem map that depicts the precursors and consequences of perinatal HIV transmission for incarcerated women, developing a plan for better reaching these women.
• MAPS VIII C Teams review prenatal HIV testing strategies (i.e. opt-in, opt-out, and newborn screening), considering the potential impact of recent CDC testing recommendations. Communities are left with a CityMatCH-developed tool for continuing the conversation within the community.
• MAPS IX C Teams build local capacity for implementing rapid HIV testing in hospital labor and delivery units by working through a case study.
• MAPS X C This final MAPS exercise helps teams to look at the issue of sustainability and should be used by a mature, long-standing team to reenergize efforts and keep the community engaged and moving forward.

The MAPS exercises are not copyrighted. Readers are free to duplicate and use all or part of the information contained in these publications. In accordance with accepted publishing standards, CityMatCH requests acknowledgement of any information used or reproduced by contacting us via email or by telephone at 402-561-7500.

Within the MAPS product series, CityMatCH has also included our Community Readiness Tent . This tool can be used by communities at multiple and strategic times during the MAPS exercises. In the past, communities have employed the Community Readiness Tent prior to beginning perinatal HIV prevention planning and then again just before implementing the prevention plan developed as a result of their MAPS work. We encourage communities to examine the Community Readiness Tent prior to beginning the MAPS exercises and plan to use it where it is most appropriate for your local efforts.

Finally, should your community need technical assistance or support regarding the MAPS series, please do not hesitate to contact the CityMatCH staff.