EpiC is an eight-year global initiative that provides strategic technical assistance and direct service delivery to achieve HIV epidemic control and strengthen global health security.
EpiC Central Asia Shohin - a business student from Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan – loves and cherishes his mother and likes to spend time hanging out with friends and having fun on the weekends. He has many friends, but... Continue Reading
The USAID and PEPFAR-supported Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project; Reaching Impact, Saturation and Epidemic Control (RISE) project; and Sustaining Technical and Analytical Resources (STAR) project are hosting a webinar series, COVID-19 clinical updates for global practice. Webinar... Continue Reading
Michael Cassell, FHI 360, EpiC/Vietnam Matt Avery, FHI 360, EpiC/Thailand The link between drug use and HIV risk is well documented across a wide range of substances, modes of administration, and contexts. While there are now proven, highly effective interventions... Continue Reading
Kate Rucinski, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health Louis Masankha Banda, FHI 360 This blog post was originally featured on Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA) Science Speaks blog. To read the full blog post, click here. Given the... Continue Reading
The USAID- and PEPFAR-supported Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project hosted a webinar in a series on topics related to HIV prevention, care, and treatment for key populations—sex workers, men who have sex with men, transgender people, and... Continue Reading
EpiC Central Asia Amir figured knowing his HIV status was better than having to wonder, so he decided to get tested, and Ibodullo—a peer navigator from the Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project—helped him get an HIV self-test... Continue Reading
Patrick Ikani, EpiC/FHI 360, Nigeria Joseph Achanya, EpiC/Achieving Health Initiative Nigeria (AHNi)Adekunle Idowu, Achieving Health Initiative Nigeria (AHNi)Adaobi Olisa, EpiC/FHI 360, NigeriaMaggie McCarten-Gibbs, EpiC/FHI 360Christopher Akolo, EpiC/FHI 360 While HIV prevalence among the general population in Nigeria is only 1.4... Continue Reading
EpiC Central Asia When Elena got to Ust-Kamenogorsk in East Kazakhstan, she had an HIV test at the AIDS center, where doctors advised her to contact Answer, a community-based organization supported by the Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC)... Continue Reading
The USAID-supported Meeting Targets and Maintaining Epidemic Control (EpiC) project hosted a webinar on strategies for improving access to medical oxygen and strengthening national oxygen ecosystems. Oxygen is a life-saving commodity in the fight against COVID-19. The historically short supply... Continue Reading
EpiC Central Asia Today, almost 11,000 people in the Kyrgyz Republic are living with HIV. Every year, on average, 700 people are diagnosed with HIV. A diagnosis of HIV was once presumed to be fatal, and many lived in fear... Continue Reading
This blog is managed by the EpiC project and dedicated to sharing stories, events, and resources from HIV epidemic control efforts around the world.
Assessment
A questionnaire or “screener” meant to be used with individual patients in a clinical setting to screen for, help diagnose, or monitor progress for individual mental health conditions.
Intervention
Larger packages or broader-reaching resources that describe actions or activities to be implemented. These may be appropriate for individuals, groups, and/or programs.
Anxiety
Feelings of fear, dread, and uneasiness that may occur as a reaction to stress. Anxiety can be a symptom or a feeling; it can also be a clinical diagnosis of a mental health condition.
Burnout
A state of emotional, physical, and mental exhaustion caused by excessive and prolonged stress, typically related to one’s work, that is not managed well. Burnout is considered an occupational phenomenon.
Clinical diagnoses
Mental or neuropsychiatric disorders, or disruptive, unusual, or maladaptive behaviors that have been evaluated and diagnosed by a trained medical professional.
Depression
A mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest.
Disability
A physical or mental condition that limits a person’s movements, senses, or activities.
Insomnia
A sleep disorder, or disordered sleep pattern, characterized by trouble falling and/or staying asleep.
Overall well-being
The state of being comfortable, healthy, or happy; judging one’s own life positively; generally, “feeling good.”
Post-traumatic stress (PTS)
A normal adaptive response to traumatic or stressful life events that can result in a wide range of distressing symptoms. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) differs from PTS and is a clinical diagnosis.
Self-efficacy
An individual’s belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals.
Self-harm/suicidality
Deliberate injury to oneself as an emotional coping mechanism, ranging from cutting oneself to suicide. Expressions of self-harm and/or suicidality are usually considered an emergency and should be assessed and managed by a trained professional.
Social support
The perception that one is cared for, has assistance available if needed, and that one is part of a supportive social network.
Stress
Any type of change to one’s internal or external environment that causes physical, emotional, or psychological strain. “Managing stress” is an effort to return from this state of strain or disturbance to homeostasis or well-being.
Substance abuse
Use of a substance (usually drugs or alcohol) in amounts or by methods that are harmful to oneself or others. Substance use disorder (SUD) and addiction are distinct clinical diagnoses.
Trauma
Lasting biopsychosocial and/or emotional response that often results from experiencing a terrible event such as an accident, crime, military combat, or natural disaster, or a series of chronic traumatic events like persistent abuse or neglect.
Program beneficiary
Individual who receives program services; an entire group or population may be the recipient of services.
Service provider
Individual who directly provides services to another individual, group, or population (the “program beneficiary”) through a program.