HIV/AIDS

This study uses data from the Demographic and Health Surveys and AIDS Indicators Surveys from 12 countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean to explore use of HIV testing and sexually transimitted infections care from the private for-profit sector, and its association with household wealth status. [adapted from abstract]

The need for documenting how the AIDS epidemic is affecting the health care personnel has long been recognized. In the specific case of Tanzania which already has a Health Sector HIV/AIDS Strategy it is imperative to have information on how the health system and the health personnel who are expected to spearhead the implementation of that strategy are being affected. This can guide preventive and remedial measures to ensure that the capacity of the system and its personnel for the effective implementation of the Strategy is not unduly compromised. [from author]

HIV scale-up has triggered innovations in nurse training, task shifting, retention, and scope of practice that need not remain HIV specific. Lessons learned in the context of HIV have the potential to enhance nursing practice and human resources for health more generally, strengthening South Africa’s health systems and improving access to effective health services. [from abstract]

The HIV epidemic poses significant challenges to the low income countries in sub Saharan Africa, affecting the attrition rate among health care workers, their level of motivation, and absenteeism from work. This study aimed to predict the intention to provide surgical treatment to HIV infected patients among medical- and dental students in Tanzania and Sudan using an extended version of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. [from abstract]

This presentation dicusses the import of task shifting to providing health care and AIDS treatment programs to low-resource countries in Africa using Mozambique as an example.

This paper presents the roles of traditional healers in HIV/AIDS prevention and scopes for including them in the national AIDS prevention and control program.

In Lesotho, as in many other countries, the HIV and AIDS care burden falls on the shoulders of women and girls in unpaid, invisible household and community work. This gender inequity in HRH needs to be addressed to ensure fair and sustainable responses to the need for home and community-based HIV/AIDS care and support. The Capacity Project addressed these issues through a study of men as providers of HIV/AIDS care and support. [from author]

This version of Voices reveals how hospital staff are using the Project’s performance improvement approach to strengthen comprehensive HIV care. [adapted from author]

This study tested the feasibility, acceptability, and cost of two models for integrating HIV prevention services, including counseling and testing, within established family planning programs, and evaluated their quality against the standard practice. [from author]

This study seeks to assess the role of private health facilities and pharmacies in HIV/AIDS service delivery in Ethiopia, and specifically to identify factors that could enable greater involvement of this sector in addressing the HIV epidemic.

This paper describes a programme in Zimbabwe aimed at responding more effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic by reinforcing a critical competence-based training institution and producing public health leaders. [adapted from abstract]

This paper documents the impact of the AIDS crisis on non-AIDS related health services in fourteen sub-Saharan African countries. [from introduction]

This study sought to assess the impact of HIV/AIDS on the human resources in the health sector in Tanzania, to provide up to date and specific data on the needs and the supply of human resources in the health sector, and to inform the formulation of strategies for strengthening human resources in the health sector. [from summary]

This paper explores the organisation of traditional healers, their perspective on HIV/AIDS and how these can be engaged by companies. [from abstract]

This paper discusses the role and impact of community health workers in Nyanza Province, Kenya, in response to the growing demands the HIV epidemic has placed on the people and communities in this region. [adapted from abstract]

One of the main barriers to surgical care in resource-limited settings is the shortage of trained health workers. A number of approaches are being employed to overcome this shortage including the mobilization of non-physician clinicians to perform surgical and anesthetic tasks. This paper discusses some of the experiences of surgical task shifting to date, and outlines lessons from task shifting in the delivery of HIV/AIDS care in sub-Saharan Africa. [adapted from abstract]

Well-documented shortages of health care workers in sub-Saharan Africa are exacerbated by the increased human resource demands of rapidly expanding HIV care and treatment programmes. The successful continuation of existing programmes is threatened by health care worker burnout and HIV-related illness. This article details the results of a study conducted among health providers in the Lusaka public health sector. [adapted from abstract]

The operations manual provides guidance on planning and delivering HIV prevention, care, and treatment services at health centres in countries with high HIV prevalence. It provides an operational framework to ensure that HIV services can be provided in an integrated, efficient and quality-assured manner. [from introduction]

AIDS is a long and debilitating illness that renders patients unable to fend for themselves. In wealthy countries, health systems provide much of the necessary care; in the developing world, however, the burden is taken up by family and community members, a large majority of whom are women. This paper outlines some of the causes of this imbalance and makes recommendations for governments as they attempt to address the problem. [adapted from introduction]

In Zimbabwe, as in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, home-based care (HBC) plays a vital role in the response to HIV as overwhelmed public health and welfare systems fail to cope with the demands of the epidemic. This document details a project designed to contribute to better understanding and evidence-based decision-making in the implementation of HBC interventions in Zimbabwe and beyond. [adapted from executive summary]

These guidelines target all health workers at the different levels of the health care delivery system and apply to both the formal and informal workplaces within the health sector. This document covers the basic principles that are required to ensure workplace safety and health including hazard identification, risk management, prevention and management of exposures and incidents. [from foreword]

This brief discusses the important role of reproductive health providers in reducing the incidence of new HIV infections over the coming years through an increased focus on outreach to young people and men. [adapted from introduction]

A joint pilot program was launched at the primary health care level in Lesotho through which nurses were trained and empowered to assume high levels of clinical responsibility for HIV care, including ART. This nurse-driven, community-supported model of care has proven to be successful in delivering quality HIV/AIDS and TB services integrated into existing primary health care structures for a population living in remote, rural areas. [from summary]

Public health systems in most developing countries do not have the capacity to provide necessary care and support to people living with HIV & AIDS. Out of necessity, many turn to family, neighbours and friends for care, the majority of whom are female. This policy brief outlines why women and girls carry the burden of HIV & AIDS care, describes the impact on them and makes policy and program recommendations to help reduce this burden. [adapted from abstract]

The objective of this adaptable tool is to assess HIV and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) bi-directional linkages at the policy, systems and service-delivery levels. It is intended also to identify gaps, and ultimately contribute to the development of country-specific action plans to forge and strengthen these linkages. It includes assement tools for evaluating staffing, human resources and capacity development (p.32) as well as a checklist for evaluating health workers’ capacity to perform SRH and HIV functions (p.82). [adapted from author]

Ethiopia does not have a sufficient health care workforce to meet the population’s demand for services and the burden of disease. The objective of this project was to assess the usefulness and feasibility of collecting key participant and training information for monitoring and planning of HIV/AIDS services. This paper describes a project that uses training data to follow up with providers after training to assess whether they are still working in HIV/AIDS-related services. [adapted from introduction]

This study involves the development and evaluation of training materials for provider-initiated HIV counseling and testing, HIV prevention and integrated primary HIV care and support for use by health care workers involved in the care of patients with TB at the primary health care clinic level in the Democratic Republic of Congo. [adapted from abstract]

The Mothers’ Support Group empowers mothers and mother-to-be to access peer-based support and make linkages to services such as family planning, infant-feeding, counseling, nutriotional guidance, antiretroviral therapy, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and health institutional delivery. [from author]

The goal of the assessment was to review the quality of HIV care, antiretroviral treatment and tuberculosis services provided in private-for-profits in Uganda in order to generate appropriate recommendations and inform the development of a strategy to improve the quality of those services. [from author]

Nurses and managers interviewed in Cape Town primary care facilities share their insights, experiences and how they cope with the impact of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. [from introduction]