Positive prevention toolkit aims to assist global training of HIV/AIDS caregivers
UCSF prevention experts have released the Positive Prevention Toolkit, a collection of resources designed to enable HIV/AIDS caregivers to provide prevention messages when interacting with HIV-positive patients. The goal is to help patients modify their behavior to reduce risk and decrease the spread of HIV.
The toolkit includes proven prevention interventions for HIV-positive individuals developed by the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. Toolkit materials are developing country focused and can be adapted for use in African settings. Available on the web, on CD-ROM and in English and Portuguese, the toolkit is being implemented in Mozambique on a national level.
“We hope the Mozambique positive prevention training materials will be used as a resource to train healthcare staff and community volunteers about the prevention and care needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS in Mozambique. While this intervention is focused toward clinical and community-based sites in Mozambique, our ultimate goal is that this resource can be adapted into other programs interested in implementing positive prevention interventions,” said lead developer, Carol Dawson-Rose, PhD, MSN, RN, associate professor of nursing at the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies.
The Positive Prevention Toolkit consists of seven sections, with the first providing resources on training skills. The second provides a collection of positive prevention training curricula. The remainder consists of practical resources, including factsheets, manuals, policy reports and guidelines, personal narratives from people living with HIV and a bibliography.
“We created the toolkit for use by the full spectrum of service providers including health care providers, trainers, peer educators, facilitators, and other health care workers,” said Dawson-Rose.
Sarah Gutin, MPH, Shannon Eng, MBA and Tomiko Conner, MPP, MPH, from UCSF and Monica Dea, MPH, formerly with UCSF, assisted in the development of the toolkit. Nicole Mandel from HIVinsite created the toolkit website.
The development of the Positive Prevention Toolkit was funded through an HIV/AIDS Twinning Center partnership supported by the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Established in 1986, the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies conducts domestic and international research to prevent the acquisition of HIV and to optimize health outcomes among HIV-infected individuals.
UCSF CAPS is affiliated with the AIDS Research Institute (ARI) at UCSF. UCSF ARI houses hundreds of scientists and dozens of programs throughout UCSF and affiliated labs and institutions, making ARI one of the largest AIDS research entities in the world.
UCSF is a leading university dedicated to defining health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate level education in the life sciences and health professions and excellence in patient care.