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, developed by the UCSF Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, includes proven prevention interventions for HIV-positive individuals. 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.