HIV Training and Resources
posted: 02/03/2011
The Sheffield Centre for HIV & Sexual Health has a solid reputation for its training courses and resources. Their 2011 training and resources brochure is now available.
We’re highlighting here a few useful courses and resources – HIV prevention for men who have sex with men, HIV Reality Check (about HIV stigma), Partner Notification Skills for Beginners, and a leaflet written by Sheffield women living with HIV.
- HIV Prevention with Men Who Have Sex With Men (MSM)
1 day course £125 13th July 2011; 11th July 2012
This one-day training course explores the reasons for HIV prevention work with men who have sex with men (MSM), one of the communities most affected by HIV in the UK.
It outlines ways to plan interventions that are targeted and appropriate.
In order to plan effective interventions you need to understand the context in which MSM live their lives. This course examines key issues, including the impact of internalised homophobia on self esteem and risk-taking behaviour, and how existing services may be inappropriate and inaccessible due to hetero-sexism and a lack of awareness.
The course also highlights the needs of specific MSM communities / population groups that may be more vulnerable to HIV infection e.g. young men, black and minority ethnic community men, men engaging in risk-taking behaviours with multiple sexual partners, and men with lower educational qualifications.
The course closes by exploring the opportunities and challenges involved in different methods of working with MSM, including:
• Outreach in a range of settings (e.g. Public Sex Environments, Online, Pubs, Clubs, and Saunas)
• Work in community settings (e.g. drop-ins)
• Community development
• Group work (e.g. training and workshops)
• Production of targeted campaigns / resources
The course is for anyone planning, commissioning or delivery of HIV prevention / sexual health promotion with MSM in both the statutory and voluntary sectors.
1 day course; £125, 10th October 2011
Developments in treatments mean that more and more people with HIV are living longer and
healthier lives. But the prejudice and stigma experienced by people living with HIV can still be a barrier to them accessing the support services and treatment they need.
Currently, about a third of people with HIV are unaware that they have the infection, with stigma playing a major part in preventing people from testing for HIV.
This one-day training course encourages service providers to:
• Check their current levels of knowledge and understanding on HIV and transmission
• Explore the varying impacts of HIV related stigma on different communities
• Discuss the issue of prosecution for HIV transmission, and anxieties around disclosure of HIV status
• Action plan based on recommendations produced in consultation with people living with HIV
The course is suitable for professionals looking to develop their basic knowledge and awareness of HIV related stigma. The training is suitable for professionals from services including Primary Care, Social Care, Health and Education.
£40, available in April 2011
A training manual with accompanying CD, for health and social care professionals on raising awareness and addressing the issues of HIV related stigma and discrimination in service provision.
The manual includes:
• Research and consultation findings on people living with HIV’s experiences of stigma and discrimination
• A range of training sessions with step by step exercises for delivering training to other professionals
• Guidance for the planning and delivery of training for people living with HIV, on developing the skills to manage stigma and discrimination and for positive living.
- Partner Notification Skills for Beginners
2 day course; £250; 7th - 8th March 2011; 5th - 6th March 2012
This two day course has been designed to assist practitioners who are new to the role of tracing and notifying sexual partners of those found to have sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, to:
• Understand the rationale and evidence base for partner notification
• Understand national guidelines, policies and protocols related to partner notification
• Understand the legal and ethical framework for partner notification
• Explore different partner notification strategies
• Develop the skills to negotiate partner notification with patients, and trace partners directly if required
• Assess outcomes and audit partner notification
- Positive Women Thoughts and Feelings
£15 for 25 copies
A booklet of writing and illustrations by a group of HIV positive women from Sheffield about their experiences of living with HIV - a useful resource in raising issues around HIV and AIDS.
Sheffield's training and resources - details and booking form
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HIV Stigma Rules?
posted: 22/02/2011
You can plainly see HIV stigma and fear in action when eight in ten young people know that HIV cannot be passed on by sharing mugs, yet three quarters of 12 to 18-year-olds say they still wouldn't share a mug with someone with HIV.
That’s HIV stigma and fear.
Even when people know the facts we often let our fears and prejudices rule.
Two new HIV knowledge and attitudes studies
Two recent studies, the first of teenagers in London from the HIV family charity Body and Soul, and the other of adults in the UK from NAT (National AIDS Trust), both show HIV ignorance and prejudice in action – and this seems to be worsening in recent years.
London teens reveal rejection
A recent study of London students aged 12-18 reveals a significant gap between what young people know about HIV and how they would behave towards someone living with HIV. While the majority know how HIV is passed on, many said that, despite this, they would not share a cup, shake hands with, or kiss someone who is living with HIV.
Social stigmas also rule: many young people said they would worry about the emotional strain and hostile reactions from young people around them, if they had a relationship with someone with HIV.
Despite all this, young people are keen to know more. 41 percent felt they had received too little information on HIV, and more than half (54 per cent) said they wanted to learn more about HIV.
Attitudes to HIV among 12-18 year olds in London: Report to Body and Soul
The research highlights the contradiction between what young people knew about HIV and how they said they would behave:
- While 81 per cent of young people knew that HIV could not be transmitted by sharing a cup, only 27 per cent of them went on to say that they would drink from the same cup as someone who they knew was HIV positive.
- Likewise, while 69 per cent of young people knew they could not get HIV by kissing, only 24 per cent of them went on to say they would kiss someone who they knew was HIV positive.
- Even some of the youngest people in the sample - 12 and 13 year olds - said they would not share a cup with, shake hands with or kiss someone who they knew was HIV positive, even if they knew it was not possible to get HIV that way. Crucially, this shows that HIV-related stigma starts at an early age.
Schools are the most important place for students to learn about HIV:
- Young people tended to feel that teachers were the most trustworthy source of information on HIV, suggesting that schools are a good route of communicating with young people on the topic.
- Communication by teachers also appears to have the potential to achieve impact: those who said they had been taught about HIV in school not only had higher levels of knowledge about how HIV is transmitted but also - to some extent - appeared to be less prejudiced towards people with HIV.
- Importantly, almost 1 in 3 of the young people consulted said they had either not been taught about HIV in their school, or did not know if they had.
Attitudes to HIV among 12-18 year olds in London
Rising Adult HIV Ignorance
HIV ignorance among adults seems to be rising, but two out of three adults say more needs doing to tackle HIV hate and prejudice in the UK.
- one in five adults do not know HIV is passed on through sex without a condom between a man and a woman
- Only three in ten adults (30%) can correctly pick from a list all of the ways HIV is and is not transmitted
- Rising numbers wrongly think spitting and biting pass on HIV
- 1 in 5 say someone in their family getting HIV would damage their relationship with them
- More than two thirds of British adults (68%) agree more needs to be done to tackle prejudice against people living with HIV in Britain.
NAT (National AIDS Trust) has just published the findings from its fourth HIV public opinion poll HIV: Public Knowledge and Attitudes 2010, carried out by the opinion polling organisation Ipsos MORI, amongst adults in Britain.
The report reveals a worrying rise in HIV ignorance over the past ten years.
Dispelling the transmission myths and misconceptions
The British public is confused about how HIV can be passed on. One in five people weren’t clear that sex without a condom between a man and a woman, or between two men are ways of getting, or passing on HIV. Public HIV knowledge seems to be falling, because around 1 in 10 more people knew this ten years ago.
Only three in ten people (30%) correctly picked all the ways HIV can and cannot be passed on.
One in 10 people believe the impossible – that spitting or kissing passes on HIV. This result is twice as bad as ten years before.
One in six people (17%) don’t feel they know enough about how to prevent HIV transmission during sex.
African and Carribbean people need more
Many African and Caribbean communities know less about HIV because they shy away from discussing it. The NAT survey shows that people from ethnic minorities are more likely than white people to say they 'don't know' the routes of HIV transmission.
In addition Asian and particularly African and Caribbean people 'are also likely not to mention sex without a condom between two men as a method of transmission.'
In the survey, 46 percent of African and Caribbean people polled did not mention sex between two men compared with 20 percent of whites.
Life with HIV
Encouragingly, most adults (70%) know people getting HIV won’t all die within three years, but 1 in 10 do think this. Two out of five wrongly believe that HIV test results aren't reliable until three months after HIV infection, and nearly half wrongly think pregnant mothers with HIV will always have babies with HIV.
People need a better grasp of the facts because knowledge curbs HIV fears that can discourage people from taking HIV tests and telling others about having HIV. More than two out of five adults want to know more about life with HIV here today, and more than half of all young people under 25 want to know about HIV life.
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), told us:
‘As the number of people with HIV in the UK approaches 100,000, it is crucial for everyone to understand the facts around how HIV is passed on so they can protect themselves and others. Many people are unaware of the basics such as using a condom to protect themselves, whilst myths such as transmission from kissing and spitting are still perpetuated.
‘One of the most concerning aspects of this survey is the fact that knowledge of HIV transmission amongst the general public has declined significantly over the last ten years. With the number of HIV infections in the UK still going up, one in six people feeling they do not know enough about how to prevent HIV transmission during sex is simply too high. When it comes to protecting yourself from HIV infection, knowledge is power.
'The Government must take the lead in acting to improve understanding and so protect public health.’
Support or stigma and prejudice?
Most of the public have a supportive attitude, with two thirds (67%) saying they have sympathy for people with HIV and three quarters (74%) agreeing people with HIV deserve the same level of support and respect as people with cancer.
However, a significant minority of people continue to hold stigmatising and discriminatory views.
One in ten adults say they have little sympathy towards people with HIV, and this rises to three in ten if people got HIV through unprotected sex. Since almost everyone with HIV (95%) got HIV through unprotected sex, this rate of public blame and rejection looks worrying.
Friends, workers and relations
Feelings are affected by people having HIV. One in five people felt HIV would damage their relationship with a HIV positive family member or neighbour. At work, although two thirds agree they would be comfortable working with someone living with HIV, more than one in ten admitted they would be uncomfortable working with that person.
‘Tell the workers too’
Over a third of people think employers should tell other workers that one of them has HIV. The idea that workers have a ‘right to know’ is pointless as protection, because there is no risk of HIV transmission at work. This 'right to know' demand shows how HIV stigma undermines HIV workers’ rights to privacy and confidentiality.
Most know about HIV stigma
Two thirds of the public believe that there is still a great deal of stigma in the UK today around HIV and a similar proportion agree it is right there are laws to protect people with HIV from discrimination and that more needs to be done to tackle prejudice against people living with HIV in the UK.
Women are keener than men to tackle HIV prejudice, with 73% of women wanting to see action on this problem, compared with 62% of the men.
Time for government action
Deborah Jack, Chief Executive of NAT (National AIDS Trust), concludes:
‘Whilst HIV treatment has advanced rapidly in the last ten years, knowledge and attitudes have sadly not kept pace – resulting in stigma and discrimination.
'In addition to improving knowledge of HIV, intensive work also needs to go into tackling the often deep-seated judgments and beliefs held about HIV and the people affected.
'The Government made a concerted and effective effort to tackle this stigma in mental health, and now it is time for HIV to be addressed in the same way.’
HIV - Public Knowledge and Attitudes 2011 - full report and data tables
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HIV Stigma Conference
posted: 20/12/2010
'It's time to have an honest conversation about the bad attitudes that spread HIV, stigma'. This was the reason for the first international HIV stigma conference, held on World AIDS Day, 1 December, in Washington, DC, USA.
The conference was organised by the Coalition for Elimination of AIDS-related Stigma (CEAS) who believe we need to include HIV stigma in every conversation, prevention method and piece of research about HIV.
The conference was held to
- Explain what stigma is
- Describe how stigma spreads HIV
- Understand the interaction of religion, race, and nationality on stigma
- Advocate for those affected with HIV to eliminate stigma
- Develop policies and social marketing to eliminate stigma
Conference sessions
- What is HIV- related stigma?
- How does stigma impact people living with HIV?
- How stigma and lack of disclosure fuel HIV
- HIV-related stigma in health care and its impact on families
- Double stigma: being both gay and at risk for HIV
- Lessons learned in the global effort to reduce HIV stigma
- Faith, spirituality, and HIV: barriers and facilitators to HIV prevention
- HIV Stigma: effect on youth and families
- Criminalisation of HIV
- Reducing the stigma of HIV and STD testing in healthcare
- Moving Forward: Center for Stigma and Cultural Competency
Conference website
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Ideas Meeting to End Harassment
posted: 13/12/2010
What should the council, NHS and other public bodies be doing to stop HIV abuse and harassment? People with HIV, their partners and friends can put forward ideas and have a say at a meeting in Manchester in late January.
The Equalities and Human Rights Commission are holding a meeting for the families, friends and survivors of disability-related harassment (including HIV abuse).
Legal duty to end harassment
Public bodies all have a legal duty to ‘eliminate’ disability-related harassment and its causes. HIV abuse, threats and violence are all examples of disability-related harassment.
Most public bodies are doing nothing effective to ‘eliminate’ HIV and other forms of disability harassment. Because of the stigma associated with HIV public bodies should be prioritising the ending of HIV stigma and its causes.
What should public bodies be doing?
There is almost no limit to the creative (and cheap) ways public bodies could promote better public attitudes to people with HIV.
Ask to take part
If you have been directly affected by disability-related harassment for example because of HIV, or someone you know has, and you would like to attend the meeting, please tell them as soon as possible. They will then invite you and send you the details of the meeting. There are only a limited number of seats so please book early. Email or telephone the Equality and Human Rights Commission: 0161 829 8174
This Manchester meeting will begin on Monday 24 January at 1pm and end by 5pm.
Please note this meeting is only for people who have experience of disability-related harassment.
Campaigning actions
During 2010 George House Trust has been encouraging people with HIV and HIV organisations to take part in this Disability Harassment Inquiry.
The commission has powers to order public bodies to take action and expects to publish its report and recommendations in the first part of 2011.
Find out more about the commission’s Inquiry into disability related harassment
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Life Insurers Discriminating
posted: 07/12/2010
Many life insurers discriminate against people living with HIV by refusing to offer any life insurance, or by charging unaffordable premiums, it was claimed this week.
8 out of 12 won't insure
Compass, a firm of financial advisers that offers specialist advice to gay and HIV-positive communities, said that eight of the top 12 UK insurers say they do not accept applications from HIV-positive people.
The 4 that will insure
When Compass put forward a test application to the four insurers that say they will insure people with HIV, two – Scottish Provident and Fortis – refused to offer any life insurance, said Chris Morgan, marketing manager of the Devon-based firm.
The other two companies were little better. Zurich wanted to charge so much extra for HIV that the customer would have to pay around £220 per month, almost double the £116 that Prudential would charge, he added.
Testing Insurers
They wanted to find out what life insurance would cost for a 30-year-old non-smoker with HIV, who wanted £250,000 of life cover for 10 years. He was chosen because he has one of the best blood cell counts and "viral loads" – a measure of the severity of a viral infection – of any person with HIV that Compass has tried to insure.
Prudential leads, others left behind
Chris Morgan said Prudential had increased the premiums because of HIV like Zurich, but at least it was offering "useful cover at a realistic price". Early last year, Prudential became the first mainstream insurer to offer life cover to people with HIV. Since then, a few other companies have started to offer this too.
Stigma and in the dark ages
Morgan said: "Some of our findings and answers received from insurers are completely worrying. It is apparent the majority are still in the dark ages and attaching a stigma to HIV." In fact it is likely to be evidence of illegal discrimination.
He added that his firm recognised insurers had the right to decline applicants on medical grounds, but it felt they were not dedicating enough attention to this developing market, and taking the needs of HIV-positive people seriously enough.
"Either companies are avoiding the issue by not offering cover, or offering completely inadequate, overpriced products and services."
Paul Ward, deputy Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust told BBC Radio 4 this week: "If you are positive, you can start treatment and it's very effective. For someone in their 30s, diagnosed today, there is every likelihood they are going to live into their 70s."
Excuses
In a statement, Phil Brown, Zurich UK's life, underwriting and claims director, said that while it would be inappropriate to comment on individual cases, "of decisions made on HIV positives this year, approximately 85% have been offered terms". He added: "We assess each applicant on their own merits, considering the many aspects of risk involved including treatment, response to treatment and the applicant's compliance with treatment."
Scottish Provident said it was happy to assess applications from HIV-positive customers on an individual basis, and is most likely to offer terms where the customer has an "undetectably low" viral load, and a consistently high white cell count, has shown good compliance with anti-viral treatment, and needs cover for 10 years or less.
But Chris Morgan said: "We have submitted 10 pre-sales enquiries over the past three months and it eventually told us to stop sending any because it was not in the position to offer any terms."
Fortis commented: "We do not automatically exclude cover for customers with any pre-existing conditions. However, we assess every case on a wide range of factors in arriving at decisions on whether terms can be offered."
HIV and Insurance - links to Compass, insurers and more information
Source
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