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 is a report detailing the main themes that emerged from research in Zambia testing the effect of a package of community education and referral interventions to expand health and ARV literacy, achieve better health-seeking behaviour, improve equity of access, boost ARV adherence and improve prevention for people with HIV. In Zambia, the ARV treatment programme in public health institutions has started scale-up, aiming as a first goal to reach 10,000 people. Zambia's central board of health (CBoH) commissioned an operations research project through the Alliance and Horizons. The research sought to understand how health seeking behaviour, particularly for VCT, adherence to ARV treatment, prevention for people with HIV and equity of access to ART treatment programmes can be improved. Eleven themes emerged from these in-depth interviews and form the main body of the report. Information needs and misinformation about HIV/AIDS and ARVs cross-cut most themes. Key actions to support improvements in policy and advocacy in support of people living with HIV in Zambia are listed at the end

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

This booklet looks at some of the questions that you may have about treatment, where you can go and what you have to do to get treatment if you or someone you know needs it. If covers basic information about HIV and AIDS, such as the immune system, opportunistic infections, CD4 tests and viral load. It provides information on anti-retroviral drugs, what they do, side effects, etc and when treatment is needed. It then covers the importance of adhering to drugs and provides a set of tips on how to take your drugs effectively. There are also charts which can be filled in to assist adherence. The AIDS Law Unit also launched a treatment literacy campaign to raise awareness and understanding about HIV/AIDS treatment as a human right. This has taken the form of the production and distribution of T-shirts, posters and booklets on access to treatment as well as the production of a series of radio programmes on access to treatment that will be broadcast on NBC radio

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

i-Base produce a range of materials relating to HIV/AIDS and treatment literacy. One example is a small handbook based on the i-Based Introduction to Combination Therapy that focuses on the four main recommendations in the latest WHO treatment guidelines. It also comments on how HIV is treated in different countries and is designed to be adapted for different settings. Several countries such as Uganda, Slovakia and Russia have already produced their own adapted versions. Titles include:
Introduction to combination therapy
Avoiding & managing side effects
Changing treatment
HIV, pregnancy & women's health
Generic treatment booklet

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