Haiti
Quality Improvement and Promotion of HIV-Related Health Services in Haiti
Activity Dates
8/1/2003 – 7/15/2007
Health Focus
Voluntary counseling and testing (VCT), anti-retroviral treatment (ART), prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT)
Activity Summary
As part of its ongoing support for the national HIV/AIDS program, HCP promoted VCT and PMTCT services through a multi-media approach. HCP also developed tools and guidelines to monitor quality of care in the counseling component of these services.
Specific Objectives:
- To promote positive behaviors for the prevention of HIV transmission, specifically from mother to child
- To promote voluntary counseling and testing among pregnant women and the general public
- To provide PMTCT information to pregnant women who have tested positive for HIV
- To increase utilization of PMTCT services by pregnant women who have tested positive for HIV
- To increase counselors' ability to provide complete and accurate HIV and specifically PMTCT information to their clients
Expected Outcomes
- Increased use of VCT and PMTCT services
- Improved interpersonal communication between clients and providers at VCT and PMTCT sites
Key Outputs
- Broadcast of radio spots to promote VCT and PMTCT services
- Tools and guidelines for monitoring quality of care in HIV counseling developed
Research
HCP conducted research in the areas of HIV/AIDS attitudes and practices, stigma, and risk management (conducted in Spring and Summer 2004).
Highlights
Stigma reduction among service providers and personnel in VCT sites through training by PLWHA group. To reduce HIV/AIDS related stigmatization and discrimination among service providers and personnel, HCP finalized a draft session plan developed by the PLWHA association POZ and the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP). The finalized document was used in a training-of-trainers workshop of MSPP and nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives at the departmental level. The trained trainers organized sensitization sessions for service providers and personnel of the 45 existing VCT sites.
A Trainer's Guide and a Counselor's Manual were developed with the end goal of reinforcing the interpersonal communication skills of VCT service providers to deliver appropriate prevention messages to their clients.
Following a training-of-trainers (TOT) workshop in September 2005 for program managers at the departmental level and NGOs, roll-out sessions in interpersonal communication and behavior change communication were conducted for VCT counselors in 44 sites.
Promotion of VCT/PMTCT services. HCP contributed to the implementation of a multi-media campaign developed by the MSPP to promote the importance of testing and the existing VCT/PMTCT services.
Materials and Resources
Materials included two brochures, one targeting the general public and the other pregnant women, and job aids, in the form of counseling cards, for service providers.
The brochures provided the target populations with necessary information about mother-to-child transmission while underscoring the importance of being tested and accessing PMTCT services.
The counseling cards covered the same themes and will be used to improve the quality and consistency of HIV-related counseling, including the prevention of HIV infection and essential information regarding VCT and PMTCT services.
The brochures were distributed nationally and the cue cards were distributed to functional PMTCT sites. The service providers receiving the counseling cue cards also received training in their use: a review of the technical content and an orientation in the use of the cards.
The training curriculum was developed by local consultants with support of the HCP staff. The training was conducted through a cascade approach using training consultants and supervised by HCP staff.
Audience
- Service providers, counselors at VCT sites, couples planning to have children or expecting a child.
Back to Haiti
Note about materials: Some of the materials and resources listed on each page are available in their full form, others are represented by image or citation only. For more information and resources, go to www.jhuccp.org
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