"A life...a story" is a quilt project for people affected by HIV/AIDS supported by the Chilean Corporation for the Prevention of AIDS. Unlike the quilts displayed at public events to commemorate people who have died, these quilts are also made by people who are still living with HIV/AIDS (PHIV) and their families. The project was conceived as a way to develop an organizing tool with two aims: to break through the barriers created by HIV infection between PHIV and their own families and to humanize the epidemic, which is often presented only in terms of statistics and "risk groups." Most of the quilt-makers are recruited through personal contacts, including family members of deceased persons. Through their artwork, the participants tell something about their lives and the way they are dealing with HIV/AIDS. A primary aim is to show the dignity of human beings who are confronting a challenge which is emotional, physical, familial and social. Some quilts relate stories of discrimination and subsequent solidarity; others are testimonies to courage and the process of going from ignorance through transformation to resistance. So far about half the quilts have been made by PHIV and half by friends and relatives of persons who died. They have been shown in nine exhibitions in various institutions and been used in two demonstrations. On occasion, the quilt-makers accompany their own quilts and speak at these events.
Latin American pharmacies are low-cost, easy access centers for medical diagnosis, counseling, and treatment. The Mexican Institute for Research on the Family and Population therefore assessed the feasibility of training pharmacists to provide AIDS/STD education in Mexico City. Initial studies found pharmacy employees lacking accurate information on transmission, prevention, and symptoms, but clients nevertheless asking them about the topics. Training materials were developed with the help of feedback from focus groups and pharmacy workers city-wide were invited to participate in a program comparing between four interventions. One group attended a pharmaceutical plant tour, one received informational materials, one participated in the training course, and one attended the course and received informational materials. The training course was eight hours long on HIV/AIDS symptoms, evolution and effects; HIV transmission; prevention measures; attitudes and myths related to HIV/AIDS; and counseling clients. The study found that short, intense training reinforced with instructional and curricular materials can significantly increase the level of pharmacy employees' knowledge. Exposure to printed materials alone failed to have a substantial impact upon knowledge or condom sales. Few participants from any group transferred knowledge to clients, with lack of time cited as a contributory factor. It is concluded that more training and reinforcement are needed to encourage pharmacy workers to volunteer information to clients.
Many people in African cities are exposed to some form of HIV/AIDS information, but rural dwellers have little or no access to such information. The Family AIDS Caring Trust (FACT) in Zimbabwe, however, noted that rural inhabitants both need and want AIDS education. FACT therefore mounted a Training-of-Trainers Project to increase the coverage of AIDS education among people outside urban areas. Potential trainers must be motivated self-starters and interested in the project, able to converse well in English, respected in their community, and have ample time for training and to hold their own training courses. Evaluation workshops are important in the ongoing refinement of the project while supervisory support is provided. The paper describes training materials and the course, evaluation workshops, supervisor and trainee recruitment, lessons learned, changes made, and project expansion.
When developing and implementing training programs for field workers and community members in HIV/AIDS prevention programs, it is essential to know what they need to learn and how it should be taught. Both the needs of participants as individuals as well as their role in prevention must be considered and accommodated. To impart the knowledge and skills needed for individuals to function at their best in the prevention programs, the author suggests creating job descriptions and task analyses as guidelines for what should be taught. Personal agendas should also be set. Participants should be allowed to express their expectations at the beginning of an actual training course, then reflect upon the training and how to put what they learned into practice at its close. Multidisciplinary groups, problem-solving approaches, and teaching in blocks are possible. Educational methods may involve brainstorming, buzz groups, and/or demonstrations. Finally, participant feedback should be secured during and immediately after the course as well as in follow-up workshops and questionnaires.
More than 500,000 hill tribe people with distinct languages and cultures live in Thailand. Extensive reforestation reducing the amount of land which they are entitled to cultivate and a ban on opium production have resulted in increased trafficking of opium and heroin from neighboring countries as well as a higher level of prostitution. The frequent injection of heroin with shared needles, turnaround migration between urban and rural areas, tourism, extensive body tattooing, infant ear piercing under unsterile conditions, and unsterile injection practices by barefoot doctors in the context of prostitution and heroin use bode ill for the prevention of widespread HIV transmission. The government has distributed AIDS information, but most tribal people cannot understand the materials. High illiteracy rates and less than mainstream Thai impede their understanding of explanations about disease. The Health Project for Tribal People therefore developed an HIV/AIDS program which is culturally and linguistically relevant for the hill tribes. The training of village leaders as educators is an important component of the project. Teams of lay people were trained in basic techniques of surveying, pretesting materials, and teaching. Project start-up, the selection of educators, training methodologies, practice teaching, extra support, follow-up, successes and problems, and the next phase are described.
