A new training course, “What a PHC Physician Needs to Know to Accompany HIV Patients”, has been launched
On September 20, the “What a PHC Physician Needs to Know to Accompany HIV Patients” course is starting on the platform of the Academy of the National Health Service of Ukraine.
The online course was developed by the NHSU Academy team in partnership with the USAID HealthLink project (СO “100% LIFE”) and the Center for Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine. After successful completion of the course, physicians will receive a certificate equivalent to 5 points of CPT (Continuous Professional Training)! The course is already available for your registration at https://academy.nszu.gov.ua/course/view.php?id=174.
COURSE OBJECTIVE:
Providing primary care physicians with information as part of the U=U (UNDETECTABLE MEANS UNTRANSMITTABLE) national campaign, which will help them in managing HIV/AIDS patients and master the knowledge of the disease etiology and diagnostics/treatment and prepare the primary care provider to take them on for testing and managing people living with HIV.
BY USING THE COURSE, DOCTORS WILL BE ABLE TO:
- find out what ART is and prescribe treatment to a patient who has just learned about their diagnosis, teenagers, pregnant women and people with comorbidities
- understand HIV treatment regimens: compatibility and scope of action
- learn to work with the patient’s comorbidities
- learn psychological aspects of working with people living with HIV
- avoid bias and discrimination in the treatment of people with HIV
- gain communication skills with patients who have just learned about their diagnosis
- learn how to perform the testing correctly, etc.
THE TRAINING COURSE IS IMPORTANT FOR:
- all PHC doctors who plan to work with HIV-positive patients
The course was developed as part of an information campaign to raise awareness of the U=U principle (UNDETECTABLE MEANS UNTRANSMITTABLE), implemented by СO “100% LIFE” as part of the USAID HealthLink project.
A person living with HIV and regularly taking ART will not transmit the virus on to others. A few months into the treatment period, the person’s viral load decreases to the level where HIV is no longer detectable and thus safe for both the person living with HIV and their close ones. This is the so-called U=U principle: if HIV IS UNDETECTABLE, it means that HIV IS UNTRANSMITTABLE.
The HealthLink Project: Accelerating Ukraine’s Efforts to End HIV is the country’s largest HIV testing project; it has an unprecedented impact on HIV response at the national level, as one in three Ukrainians who learned about their HIV+ status did that owing to the project. It is implemented by CO “100% LIFE” in partnership with the ICF “Alliance of Public Health” with the support of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
