HIV/AIDS

At the end of the one year of intervention, the results showed a significant reduction in sexually transmitted infections in the group that was eligible for the $20 payments every four months,but no such reduction was found for the group receiving the $10 payments. The effects were stronger among the lower socioeconomic and higher risks groups. The results of a post-intervention follow-up survey conducted one year after discontinuing the intervention indicate a sustained effect among males, but not among females. [from abstract]

AIDS Today: Tell no lies and claim no easy victories is the first edition of our new biennial publication that presents the global state of the civil society response to AIDS. The report aims to spark a timely debate about the global AIDS response: what it has achieved, what it can teach others fighting for health and justice, and what remains to be done to bring about a sustainable end to AIDS. [from resource]

he Male Circumcision Consortium (MCC) conducted research from 2008 to 2013 to inform the scale-up of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) services in Kenya. This series of briefs presents the results of nine studies and their implications for Kenya’s VMMC program. The evidence generated by these studies may also be useful to other countries that are scaling up VMMC services. [adapted from resource]

This report summarizes five years of PTA-supported accomplishments in HIV prevention research, the integration of HIV prevention and reproductive health technologies, and technical leadership and support for HIV prevention research, field activities, and product quality and compliance. [from introduction]

The objective of the prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (pMTCT) cascade analysis tool is to
provide frontline health managers at the facility level with the means to rapidly, independently and quantitatively
track patient flows through the pMTCT cascade, and readily identify priority areas for clinic-level improvement
interventions. [from abstract]

The increasing number of people requiring HIV treatment in South Africa calls for efficient use of its human
resources for health in order to ensure optimum treatment coverage and outcomes. This paper describes an innovative
public-private partnership model which uses private sector doctors to treat public sector patients and ascertains the
model’s ability to maintain treatment outcomes over time. [from abstract]

Health care workers are exposed to different kinds of occupational hazards due to their day to day activities. The most common occupational exposure like body fluids are a potential risk of transmission of blood born infection like human immunodeficiency virus. [from abstract]

This article analyzes community health workers’ (CHW) capacities for empathic service within an AIDS treatment program in Addis Ababa. I show how CHWs’ capacities to build relationships with stigmatized people, reconcile family disputes, and confront death draw on a constellation of values, desires, and emotions encouraged by CHWs’ families and religious teachings. I then examine the ways in which the capacities of CHWs were valued by the
institutions that deployed them.

There are various socio-cultural issues/obstacles in prevention of HIV-AIDS in high risk group for e.g., gender inequality, power inequalities and male dominance; condom use believed to be in conflict with the cultural importance for procreation; poverty, illiteracy, increase in migrant population and unemployment; poor knowledge and awareness of reproductive and sexual health and sexuality; emergence of new urban sub-culture and physical or mental abuse at a young age.

Formalized task shifting structures have been used to rapidly scale up antiretroviral service delivery to underserved populations in several countries, and may be a promising mechanism for accomplishing universal health coverage. However, studies evaluating the quality of service delivery through task shifting have largely ignored the patient perspective, focusing on health outcomes and acceptability to health care providers and regulatory bodies, despite studies worldwide that have shown the significance of patient satisfaction as an indicator of quality.

In the 20 years since South Africa underwent a peaceful transition from apartheid to a constitutional democracy, considerable social progress has been made toward reversing the discriminatory practices that pervaded all aspects of life before 1994.1-5 Yet the health and well-being of most South Africans remain plagued by a relentless burden of infectious and noncommunicable diseases, persisting social disparities, and inadequate human resources to provide care for a growing population with a rising tide of refugees and economic migrants. [from abstract]

Health navigation is an approach to improving healthcare delivery that helps individuals access the care they need.People called navigators work with each client to identify and reduce any barriers they may face that make it difficult for them to get quality, timely care. Services are tailored to each individual and may include appointment scheduling, transportation, accompaniment, referrals, health education, and counselling. [from introduction]

Developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and partners, the correct adaptation and implementation of the global guidelines on prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV is critical. This study explored the challenges that health workers face implementing WHO’s PMTCT guidelines, and the experiences of HIV-positive clients receiving these services. [from abstract]

Interactions between patients and service providers frequently influence uptake of prevention of mother-to-child
transmission (PMTCT) HIV services in sub-Saharan Africa, but this process has not been examined in depth. [from abstract]

Health facilities in rural, resource limited settings face multiple challenges responding to a growing demand for HIV treatment, including lack of adequate numbers of trained health workers. Many programs have used community health support workers (CHSWs) to provide specific services related to HIV care, and to complement facility-based treatment. [from abstract]

Recent analysis by the SHOPS project shows that the private health sector could help country governments sustain national HIV responses. SHOPS used national health accounts data to track how HIV funds flow through the health systems in Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Malawi, and Namibia, and identified ways that donors and the government can better work with the private health sector. [from introduction]

This field guide aims to: Summarize the lessons learned during the first three years of
implementation of the Strategy and Plan of Action for the Elimination of
Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV and Congenital Syphilis. And provide health authorities, program managers, and other health personnel with practical guidance on updating or developing plans for accelerated implementation of the Regional Strategy and Plan of Action. [adapted from introduction]

Despite the substantial investment for providing HIV counselling and testing (VCT) services in Zambia, there has been little effort to systematically evaluate the quality of VCT services provided by various types of health providers. This study, conducted in 2009, examines VCT in the public and private sectors including private for-profit and NGO/faith-based sectors in Copperbelt and Luapula. [from abstract]

The integration of family planning (FP) and HIV services improves sexual and reproductive health outcomes by providing both services under one programmatic umbrella. This type of integration refers to the delivery of health services, and it is a subset of closely related but broader linkages between family planning and HIV policies, funding, programs, and advocacy. [from authors]

Ethiopia has made tremendous progress in providing health services to its large (87 million), and largely rural (83%), population. This is reflected in significant improvements in many maternal and child health indicators over the past ten years, including roughly a halving of infant and under-five mortality and an almost five-fold increase in the modern method contraceptive prevalence rate. At the heart of this expansion and its success is the health worker. [from introduction]

There has been considerable interest in paediatric HIV disclosure. This is the process leading to full disclosure (when the condition is named for the HIV-positive child, usually by a caregiver or healthcare worker). WHO guidelines state that children should be aware of the name of their condition by the age of 12, with younger children told their status incrementally to accommodate their cognitive skills and emotional maturity in preparation for full disclosure.

This fact sheet was developed by teams of Guatemalan public health professionals who participated long-term capacity building process to promote secondary analysis of the National Maternal and Child Health Survey 2008-2009 (Encuesta Nacional de Salud Materno Infantil – ENSMI 2008-2009) [from abstract]

Methods for monitoring and evaluating HIV prevention are urgently needed. Because resources for interventions are limited, there is an urgent need to focus interventions where they are most cost-effective. The approach taken in the PLACE method is to identify priority prevention areas and within these areas identify public places (such as hotels, bars, and events) where people meet new sexual partners. These places are potential intervention venues where the individuals most likely to transmit HIV can be accessed. Venues and events are identified by informants in the community.

This report presents the findings from a qualitative study conducted in January 2014 in Lango and Teso regions of Uganda among Arise Project beneficiaries and service providers. The purpose of the study was to elicit in-depth perspectives and
experiences about the effectiveness of Arise interventions and suggest ways for improving future interventions in the target districts. [from summary]

Sub-Saharan Africa is burdened by high rates of unintended pregnancy and HIV. Yet little is known about the relationship between these two health risks in the region. Understanding the associations between HIV status and pregnancy decision making may benefit strategies to reduce unintended pregnancy. [from abstract]

In order to ensure continued strong political and financial support for the global AIDS response in the post-2015 era, it is crucial to advocate for the inclusion of strong targets and indicators related to AIDS, sexual and reproductive health and rights and human rights under the new post-2015 health goal and other relevant goals. This paper is a helpful tool to influence your governments as they start developing their positions on the new post-2015 Framework. [from introduction]

Case studies on the HIV response in South Sudan, Haiti and Cote d’Ivoire. [from introduction]

This tool is intended to support national-level advocacy as an element of HIV programmes designed with and for key populations. It highlights how to design new advocacy and campaign programmes, creating advocacy-related funding proposals and communicating with key populations. [adapted from introduction]

This document is a guide for advocating for attention to gender issues in future microbicide introduction. The guide is based on the findings from a gender analysis conducted by FHI 360 in Kenya in 2012–2013. The purpose of this analysis was to examine how gender norms and inequalities may affect women’s access to and use of a microbicide product. [from introduction]

The purpose of this program guide is to assist readers in thinking through a successful and efficient plan for [Family Planning and Antiretroviral Therapy] service integration, but the principles apply for integrating core and additional services, whatever they may be.[adapted from background]