ARVs and treatment literacy

This powerpoint presentation presents issues raised by research on treatment literacy. The main points are adherence, positive living (including nutrition), detailed and technical descriptions of side effects, detailed and technical information about CD4 counts, viral loads, risks within first 100 days, resistance and re-infection. It includes some interesting quotes from people living with HIV and AIDS who are taking treatment

This publication is aimed at governments, development partners, and public and private health facilities seeking to provide ART as part of comprehensive care and support for people living with HIV and AIDS. It describes valuable lessons learned from several ART learning sites throughout Ghana, Kenya and Rwanda. By the end of April 2005, more than 5,800 new patients had initiated ART through this treatment and care initiative. Strategies, challenges and key recommendations are presented and comments by national and community leaders, providers and patients appear throughout the text to give readers a sense of the programs as they progressed. The lessons may not have direct relevance to all health facilities providing or planning to provide ART; it should be used or adapted depending on the epidemiological, political, social, cultural and economic context of each setting

This UNAIDS Best Practice Collection document aims to highlight and advocate for the work of civil society, community based organisations in particular, in responding to the AIDS epidemic in Africa. The paper describes a ground breaking survey by Sidaction, a Paris based treatment rights group, which supports community responses to AIDS in low and middle income countries. In 2004, Sidaction, in cooperation with the UNAIDS secretariat and WHO mapped treatment and care efforts by community based organisations in Africa. Many community based organisations are already dispensing ARVs on a significant scale. The survey confirmed that community efforts to provide treatment represent an important opportunity to enrol more people in antiretroviral therapy. To seize this opportunity, national governments and the international community need to quickly provide support to expand the coverage and impact of community based treatment. The aim is for CBOs to work closely with the public sector so that each reinforces the efforts of the other

This is a report on a technical consultation on treatment education held in Paris November 22-23, 2005, which aimed to assess the current state of HIV treatment literacy and community preparedness, identify needs and recommend strategies for the future. The effectiveness of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and medical care relies on timely HIV testing and treatment adherence. Treatment education interventions addressing issues of stigma and complacency, have been shown to contribute to a wider uptake of testing services and to improve adherence to ART. The report calls for an integrated and synergetic collaboration between all stakeholders, including people with HIV, and for the adoption of a participatory, person-centred approach. It also acknowledges that while there is a wealth of initiatives aimed at improving community preparedness, there is also a need to scale up programmes that have shown to work. The report concludes with a number of key recommendations for future activities. Those include: providing support to partnership and inter-sectoral collaborations; integrating treatment education across HIV education programmes and health systems; differentiating and customising approaches according to settings and audiences; involving affected communities and individuals; monitoring and evaluating treatment education initiatives

Family Health International has a series of comprehensive factsheets which offer information on many aspects of HIV/AIDS prevention, care and treatment and mitigation. In relation to care and treatment, titles include:
Care and support for HIV/AIDS: Building capacity
Safe and effective introduction of antiretroviral (ARV) drugs
Nutrition in comprehensive HIV care, treatment and support programmes
Treatment and Care Initiative

ITPC provides detailed information on antiretroviral drugs. There are three different types of fact sheets for each of the following four medications: AZT (retrovir), Nevirapine (Viramune), Nelfinavir (Viracept), 3TC (Epivir). The fact sheets are evidence-based, citing the studies that have been done on a specific drug. They are a short summary and are in a question-and-answer style. They answer commonly asked questions such as: Why am I given this medication? How do I take it? What do I do if I forget a dose? What are the side effects? Can it be taken with other medications? Can I drink alcohol or use street drugs? Can it be taken if I am pregnant or breastfeeding? What other precautions should I be aware of? The factsheets have a range of levels of technical language and make a variety of assumptions about pre-existing knowledge. They also provide information on dosing combinations and schedule sheet for all currently available medications

PATAM is a social movement of individuals and organisations dedicated to mobilising communities, political leaders and all sectors to ensure access to antiretroviral (ARV) treatment, as a fundamental part of comprehensive care for all people with HIV/AIDS in Africa. The PATAM was created in response to the unacceptable situation where the greatest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in the world today are located on the African continent but do not have sufficient access to lifesaving medications. The site contains useful information on HIV and AIDS, advocacy strategies, and resources. It also provides links to information on treatment response strategies, treatment literacy and drug pricing