An International Research Consortium to Maximise Benefits & Equity of HIV Treatment & Care Systems

Key Messages from five years of research in Africa and Asia

Evidence for Action have realeased a report summarising key messages from five years of research on HIV treatment and care systems (pdf, 2MB). The report draws together some of the main findings from the research programme, which has included over 70 projects. The report covers:

What 'package' of HIV treatment and care services should be provided in different settings? This includes the needs of specific subgroups of the population; mental health; and monitoring and evaluation.
How should HIV treatment and care services be delivered? This includes ways of decentralising HIV treatment and care; and groups involved in providing care.
How should HIV treatment and care be integrated into existing health and social systems? This includes integration of HIV services into the wider health system; and HIV and TB integration.
How best can new evidence from research be rapidly translated into new policies and actions? This includes research on how evidence about cotrimoxazole has influenced policy in three African countries, and the sources of information policymakers in Africa and Asia use.

A new article which argues for stronger linkages between formal health systems and community systems has been published in Global Public Health. This article suggests that for HIV services to be effective and reach those who are currently not reached by services, linkages between community providers of HIV care and formally trained health professions within the health institutions should be strengthened, within a sustainable task shifting framework.

The article recommends that these linkages should be strengthened through 1) wider community participation in design and implementation of HIV programs, 2) better institutional structures that enable transfer of knowledge from highly educated health workers to community health workers 3) formalised partnerships between civil society the public and private health sector and 4) better investments in health.

It concludes by noting that integration of informal (community) and formal health systems can 1) increase efficiency, 2) reduce staff overload, 3) increase awareness (and uptake ) of available services and 4) can enhance community mobilisation and participation, which is a critical enabler in the AIDS response.

Read the abstract of this paper.

Evidence for Action Final Report

Evidence for Action has now been going for five years, thanks for funding from the Department for International Development. In this time we have carried out research on 76 research projects in Africa and Asia. We have produced more than 300 publications on major questions relating to HIV treatment and care systems. Our work has contributed to improving policies and practices at local, national and international levels. Funding for the programme finishes on 30th June. The Final Report (pdf, 1,183kb) of the programme gives details of the work we have been doing, and what impact this has had so far. This report is quite lengthy and detailed, so if you want more concise information on our main findings, the Key Messages Report (pdf, 2MB) may be a better place to start.

The partners will continue working on outputs and publications from the programme, which will be added to the website as they become available, but the News section of the website will not be updated regularly.