HIV/AIDS

Human Resources Needs for Universal Access to Antiretroviral Therapy in South Africa: A Time and Motion Study

This article quantifies the number of HIV health workers required to be added to the current HIV workforce to achieve universal access to HIV treatment in South Africa, under different eligibility criteria. [from abstract]

HIV/AIDS Control Programmes in Developing Countries: The Role of Human Resource

In this paper, the authors discussed the evidence based solutions to the problem of human resources in the health sector to combat HIV/AIDS and other diseases in developing countries. [adapted from abstract]

Human Resources Crisis in Southern Countries: A Major Obstacle to the Fight Against HIV

Conseil national du sida wished to delve further into the human resources crisis in Southern countries. It therefore sought to identify the main causes and determining factors behind the said crisis and to put forth various strategies in an attempt to turn that trend around. [from author]

Mobile Learning for HIV/AIDS Health Care Workers' Training in Resource-Limited Settings

This paper gives an overview of the approaches, methods and materials used in a mobile-based educational platform designed to enable health care workers involved in HIV/AIDS care in urban peripheral stations in Peru to access the state-of-the-art in HIV treatment and care. [adapted from introduction]

HIV Self-Testing among Health Workers: A Review of the Literature and Discussion of Current Practices, Issues and Options for Increasing Access to HIV Testing in Sub-Saharan Africa

This paper examines the particular issues of self-testing for HIV among health workers in sub-Saharan Africa, where high levels of interest and motivation for self-testing among health workers has been reported and informal self-testing already practiced. [from summary]

Leveraging the Private Health Sector to Enhance HIV Service Delivery in Lower-Income Countries

This article reviews findings on the types of HIV/AIDS services provided by the private health sector in developing countries and elaborates on the role of private providers of HIV services in Ethiopia. [from abstract]

Quantifying the Role of Private Health Providers in HIV Testing: Analysis of Data from 18 Countries

This research study sought to answer questions regarding HIV/AIDS testing in the private sector such as percentage private sector tests, frequency of private sector testing in comparison to other services, and impact of wealth quintile on selection of private sector testing. [adapted from publisher]

HIV and Human Resources Challenges in Papua New Guinea: An Overview

The HIV epidemic in Papua New Guinea (PNG) presents major challenges, including significant human resources challenges. This report presents an overview of the available global literature on HIV and human resources, collates information on the workforce responses to HIV in PNG and highlights human resource issues specific to HIV in PNG. [from summary]

Recall of Lost to Follow-Up Pre-Antiretroviral Therapy Patients in the Eastern Cape: Effect of Mentoring on Patient Care

This study sought to prove that mentoring plays an important role in professional nurse training and support and that recall of lost-to-follow-up patients is feasible and effective in improving ART services in rural settings. [adapted from author]

Planning, Implementing, and Monitoring, Home-Based HIV Testing and Counselling: A Practical Handbook for Sub-Saharan Africa

Because programming for home-based HIV testing and counselling (HBHTC) services poses a series of practical challenges with design, cost, human resource, and logistical implications, the purpose of this handbook is to provide practical guidance on ways to address these challenges and to outline some of the key considerations when planning, implementing, and monitoring HBHTC. [from author]

Client Characteristics and Acceptability of a Home-Based HIV Counselling and Testing Intervention in Rural South Africa

There is growing interest in expanding testing coverage through the implementation of innovative models such as home-based HIV counselling and testing (HBHCT) by trained lay counsellors. With the aim of informing scale up, this paper discusses client characteristics and acceptability of an HBHCT intervention implemented in rural South Africa. [from abstract]

Treatment Outcomes and Cost-Effectiveness of Shifting Management of Stable ART Patients to Nurses in South Africa: An Observational Cohort

This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of down-referring stable antiretroviral therapy (ART) patients from a doctor-managed, hospital-based ART clinic to a nurse-managed primary health care facility in Johannesburg, South Africa. [from abstract]

Integrating Family Planning and HIV/AIDS Services: Health Workforce Considerations

Governments and the global health community are increasingly paying attention to maximizing and measuring impact through service delivery integration efforts in family planning/HIV service integration. This technical brief assesses the evidence on the role of health workers in the integration of family planning and HIV services and discusses key health worker considerations when integrating these services. [from publisher]

Economic Evaluation of Task-Shifting Approaches to the Dispensing of Anti-Retroviral Therapy

The study aims to compare two task-shifting approaches to the dispensing of anti-retroviral therapy (ART): indirectly supervised pharmacist’s assistants and nurse-based pharmaceutical care models against the standard of care which involves a pharmacist dispensing ART. [adapted from abstract]

Acceptance and Uptake of Voluntary HIV Testing among Healthcare Workers in a South African Public Hospital

The aim of this study is to determine factors associated with the acceptance and uptake of voluntary HIV testing among healthcare workers in a public hospital in KwaZulu-Natal. [from abstract]

Cold Comfort for Healthcare Workers? Medico-Ethical Dilemmas Facing a Healthcare Worker after Occupational Exposure to HIV

This paper discusses the ethical and legal constraints on a healthcare worker who has been occupationally exposed to possible HIV infection in circumstances where the patient will not/is not in a position to give consent to be tested to establish his/her HIV status, which is a prerequisite for the healthworker to receive postexposure prophylaxis in South Africa. [adapted from abstract]

Private Healthcare Sector Doctors and HIV Testing Practices in the eThekwini Metro of KwaZulu-Natal

This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among private sector doctors who manage HIV and AIDS patients in KwaZulu-Natal to collect data on private sector doctors’ HIV testing practices.

Engagement of Non-Government Organizations and Community Care Workers in Collaborative TB/HIV Activities Including Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission in South Africa: Opportunities and Challenges

Using South Africa as a case study, this article reports on the engagement of non-governmental organizations and community care workers in the implementation of collaborative tuberculosis/HIV activities in rural South Africa, including extent of participation and constraints and opportunities to enhance effective participation. [adapted from abstract]

Healthcare Workforce: Who Cares and Where?

This webcast session from the XIX International AIDS Conference presents issues in the workforce crisis and highlights strategies being implemented to improve the numbers and quality of the HIV healthcare workforce. [adapted from publisher]

Task Shifting of Antiretroviral Treatment from Doctors to Primary-Care Nurses in South Africa (STRETCH): A Pragmatic, Parallel, Cluster-Randomised Trial

This article aimed to assess the effects on mortality, viral suppression, and other health outcomes and quality indicators of program for task shifting of antiretroviral therapy from doctors to nurses, which provides educational outreach training for nurses to initiate and represcribe. [adapted from summary]

Evaluation of a Task-Shifting Strategy Involving Peer Educators in HIV Care and Treatment Clinics in Lusaka, Zambia

The purpose of this study was to evaluate patient and staff perceptions regarding whether the peer education program as as part of a task-shifting strategy for HIV care relieved the workload on professional health care workers and delivered services of acceptable quality. [adapted from author]

Impact of Community-Based Support Services on Antiretroviral Treatment Programme Delivery and Outcomes in Resource-Limited Countries: A Systematic Review

Task-shifting to lay community health providers is increasingly suggested as a potential strategy to overcome the barriers to sustainable antiretroviral treatment scale-up in high-HIV-prevalence, resource-limited settings. This article report on a systematic review of scientific evidence on the contributory role and function of these forms of community mobilisation. [adapted from abstract]

Stigma and Discrimination Against People Living with HIV by Healthcare Providers, Southwest Ethiopia

This study was conducted to explore stigma and discrimination against PLHIV amongst healthcare providers in Jimma zone, Southwest Ethiopia. [from abstract]

Implementing Nurse-Initiated and Managed Antiretroviral Treatment (NIMART) in South Africa: A Qualitative Process Evaluation of the STRETCH Trial

The STRETCH (Streamlining Tasks and Roles to Expand Treatment and Care for HIV) progra was an intervention implemented in South Africa to enable nurses providing primary HIV/AIDS care to expand their roles and include aspects of care and treatment usually provided by physicians. The effects of STRETCH on pre-ART mortality, ART provision, and the quality of HIV/ART care were evaluated through a randomised controlled trial. This study was conducted alongside the trial to develop a contextualised understanding of factors affecting the implementation of the program. [adapted from abstract]

Human Resources for Health Implications of Scaling Up For Universal Access to HIV/AIDS Prevention, Treatment, and Care: Thailand Rapid Situational Analysis

This report presents the findings and key messages for Thailand of a multicountry rapid situation analysis of the human resources for health implications for scaling up to universal access to HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support. [from summary]

Health Information Technology for Continuous Quality Improvement of HIV Treatment Programs

This compendium of health information technology (HIT) seeks to inform the implementation of HIT to facilitate continuous quality improvement of antiretroviral therapy programs and improved patient outcomes in low and middle income countries. [from author]

Involving Expert Patients in Antiretroviral Treatment Provision in a Tertiary Referral Hospital HIV Clinic in Malawi

This article describes a task shifing intervention in Malawi where a cadre of expert patients was trained to assist with some of the clinical tasks of antiretroviral (ART) services as a way to fill the gap in the availability of health workers. [adapted from author]

HIV/AIDS Related Home Based Care Practices among Primary Health Care Workers in Ogun State, Nigeria

HIV/AIDS is fast becoming a chronic disease with the advent of antiretroviral drugs, therefore making home based care key in the management of chronically ill HIV/AIDS patient. The objective of this study was to determine the perception and practice of health care workers on HIV/AIDS related home based care in the health facilities in Ogun state, Nigeria. [from abstract]

Impact of Organizational Factors on Adherence to Laboratory Testing Protocols in Adult HIV Care in Lusaka, Zambia

This study investigates how physical space, level of staffing, staff burnout, staff absenteeism, staff experience and facilities’ experience with ART provision are associated with levels of adherence to clinical protocol as part of Zambian HIV care and treatment program. [adapted from author]

Essential Core Competencies for Nursing Related to HIV and AIDS

A team of nursing leaders collaborated to identify essential nursing competencies to address the HIV and AIDS epidemics in the sub-Saharan African region. This document includes: evidence supporting the need to establish core competencies in HIV and AIDS; concepts related to the core competencies for nursing related to HIV and AIDS; and the essential core competencies for nursing related to HIV and AIDS.