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How to use this toolkit
This training toolkit is intended for a variety of uses:
- Delivery of the majority of modules as a two to three day course prior to the introduction of antiretroviral treatment at a health care facility
- Design of a training course to meet the specific needs of a group, by assembling material from various modules within this toolkit.
- In-service training to refresh staff on particular issues, using portions of modules lasting no more than 90 minutes.
This toolkit is not intended to provide all the training that will be necessary to successfully develop a service. That training can only be delivered by people familiar with the specific training needs of staff within a specific health care facility, and plans should be in place for future in-service training when basic training begins.
How will the training be delivered?
During the development of this toolkit, we received a wide variety of advice about the format in which the information should be presented, confirming to us that facilities for training vary widely in resource-limited settings. The toolkit has been designed so that it can be presented in a variety of ways:
- Powerpoint slide sets that can be presented using a slide projector, and handouts that can be distributed to participants
- Powerpoint slide sets that can be used to create transparencies for use on an overhead projector, and handouts that can be distributed to participants
- PDF files that can be printed out and used as a training handbook, with key points from slides presented on a flip chart or blackboard
- A set of handouts that can be taken away from the training session by participants for future reference
What sort of care is this toolkit intended to support?
This toolkit is intended to support the model of care recommended by the World Health Organisation’s 3 x 5 strategy – the delivery of treatment and care largely through primary health care facilities, administered by nurse practitioners and clinical/medical officers and supervised by doctors.
The toolkit focuses on the safe use of fixed dose combinations of antiretrovirals, emphasising the importance of adherence support and the recognition and management of HIV-related symptoms and drug side effects with minimal laboratory facilities.
Planning a training event: suggested combinations of modules
A complete set of suggested timings for the training modules and sub-sections of the modules can be downloaded from http://www.aidsmap.com/toolkit
Introductory programme – One week
Day One
- Introduction to HIV & AIDS – 90 minutes
- Medical monitoring of people with HIV (clinical monitoring and laboratory tests) – 5 hours
Note: where CD4 cell counts will be used, Introduction to HIV & AIDS can be condensed to 1 hour, and the CD4 cell counts module should be added to the end of the Medical monitoring (clinical and laboratory monitoring) module (90 minutes).
Day Two
- Basics of Anti-HIV therapy - 6hrs 15
Day Three
Morning
- Basics of Anti-HIV Therapy (side effects section) – 3 hrs
Afternoon
- One fixed dose combination recommended as first-line treatment (1 hr)
- If a second fixed dose combination is available in the locality for switches, second combination (1 hr)
- Changing treatment (90 mins)
Day Four
Morning
- Treatment during pregnancy and breastfeeding – 3 hours
Afternoon
- Infant feeding – 2 hrs 15
Day Five
- Preparing the patient for treatment – 6 hours
- Revise fixed dose combination rules (30 -45 mins)
Follow-up course (two days)
Day One
- Basic package of care - 6 hrs 30 mins
Day Two
Morning:
- Tuberculosis - 3 hours