Treatment literacy and community mobilization – two

directions in one initiative STEP

(CIS/Baltics/Central Asia)

Konstantin Lezhentsev

Consultants, International Harm Reduction Development Programme

STEP – key component in treatment literacy and community mobilization

History of the project• Initial fundign and organization -EATG;

• Partnership with Open Society Institute, AFEW, All-Ukrainina Network of PLWHAs, TIDES Foundation, HIV I-Base, CEEHRN;

• Idea: EATG project «Leiden» focused on treatment literacy for PLWHAs iin Africa and Asia

• Operative development• Establishing Operational Group (step-og@eatg.org)

• Regional Context, regional trainers

• Adjusting metjodological base for the needs of the region - STEP protocols

• ARV4IDU priority component

• To provide treatment literacy on peer basis but on expert level

• To empower activists to become equal participants in deciionmaking process related to treatment (drug procurement, criteria for patient selection, budgeting and strategy)

• To ensure effective GIPA in all programs related to ARV scaling up on all levels

Main objectives of STEP

Preparing experts

Educating others

Advocacy and GIPA

Preparing experts

Edicating others

Advocacy and GIPA

Preparing Experts

Educating others

Advocacy and GIPA

МОБИЛИЗАЦИЯ СООБЩЕСТВА И ЭФФЕКТИВНОСТЬ ЛЕЧЕНИЯ

STEP – main components

• Initial didactic trainign for potential ToTs (4 days)

• 4- months follow up on-line course ST@PNet

• Small grants for treatment literacy work on-site

CIS/Baltics – Pilot STEP region– 25 participants for initial training 2004– 20 on-line course participants (11 successfully

finished); – Grant program strated

Central Asia– July 2005 - didactic training, 27 participants

(Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazachstan, Turkmenistan)

– On-line course finished

ST@P - structure

• ST@P multi-component on-line course

• Participants divided into 4 groups (6 people each)

• Each participant makes his/her part of work in solving tests in: advocacy, treatment lcounseling and treatment literacy education

• Group tests to train to work as a team

ST@P: what is right answer?

• There are no “right” answers• Each «answer» has its pluses and minuses• Main focus to provide group analysis of the

positive and negative sidesa nd develop mechanism for overvoming each problem in the tasks.

• Final solution/answer should have input from all members of the group and reflect all potential problems and difficulties

Why ST@P?

• ST@P is systematic approach to organizing post-training groupwork

• Such approach also helps to keep workign and informal contacts among trainees and stimulates their cooperation and inforshare after the whole education cycle

• Finally, it helps to implement in practice key idea of STEP cycle - create regional expert group able to providesustainable an dregular treatment literacy assistance

In practice

• Russia, GFATM 3d round in 8 regions - all peer counselors are trained by STEP methodlogy, regional advisor is STEP trainer

•

• Knowledge HUB ARV4IDU (WHO) – STEP methodology has been used, STEP trainers involved

• Инициатива UNAIDS по приверженности – взаимодействие со STEP командами

• Communoty mobbilization iin Central Asia - ARV component (ARV4IDUs) has been provided by STEP trainers from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia

• Ukraine - ARV/ST/Harm Reduction integration project, outreach workers are trained by STEP trainers

• STEP ex-trainee from Latvia became member of STEP team as a counselor on medical issues

Оперативная группа STEP