CLINIC SUPERVISOR'S MANUAL - Management Sciences for Health

HIV/AIDS: Prevention
ACRONYMS FOR HIV AND AIDS PREVENTION
AIDS - Acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome
HIV - Human immuno-deficiency virus
PHC - Primary health care
STD - Sexually transmitted disease
STI - Sexually transmitted infection
Why is HIV and AIDS prevention such a high priority now?
Because:
� HIV is the virus that causes AIDS, the disease.
� Prevalence of HIV infection is high and rising in each community in the whole country. HIV
infection has reached epidemic level, meaning it affects many people and is spreading.
� Prevention of transmission of HIV is the only way to prevent death from AIDS.
� Nurses and other health workers at primary care facilities and other settings of care are critical
agents for HIV prevention. Daily, they interact with many clients, young, middle-aged and old,
who may not as yet have accurate information about HIV or AIDS.
How can clinic nurses support efforts towards prevention of HIV?
A clinic nurse should use any contact with a client to help them build their skills for HIV prevention
by:
� Educating the clients and creating awareness about HIV and AIDS prevention. This would
include explaining what HIV and AIDS are and how HIV is spread, making individuals aware
that protecting themselves is the only way to protect their partner or unborn child,
� Explaining what options they have for reducing risk of acquiring the virus.
� Counselling clients on HIV prevention by promoting safer sexual behaviour.
� Referring at-risk clients for voluntary counselling and testing.
� Taking responsibility for prompt, correct and full treatment of persons with STIs.
� Promoting and encouraging condom use for sexually active individuals.
� Observing universal precautions of infection prevention at work in order to decrease own
chances of exposure to infected blood or other body fluids, although the risk is said to be
small.
What key messages about HIV and AIDS should client education highlight?
� HIV attacks and eventually impairs blood cells in the body that normally fight infection - in the
end, the body cannot defend itself against various other infections. For example, bacterial
infections become more severe, last longer and become harder to treat with antibiotics.
� The virus is transmitted when body fluids like semen, blood, and vaginal fluids of an infected
person get into the body of another person. Transmission could occur via sexual intercourse,
blood transfusion, unclean needles or syringes, (or any tool that cuts or pricks the skin), and
mother to her baby during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding.
� Most infections are through sexual intercourse.
� Anyone who practices unsafe sex can get HIV/AIDS.
� Even if you are faithful you can get HIV/AIDS if your partner has other sex partners who are
infected with the virus.
� Most people infected by HIV do not know they are infected until many years later when they
develop symptoms of AIDS. One cannot tell who is infected by HIV simply by looking at them.
� STDs greatly increase the risk of acquiring HIV/AIDS.
16 Clinic Supervisor’s Manual