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.
Written by Natasha Mack, Editor, FHI 360 [caption id="attachment_1592" align="alignnone" width="710"] A couple receives counseling on HIV and STI prevention at Soutoura’s Valentine’s Day event.[/caption] Valentine’s Day is for lovers. On February 14, 2018, Soutoura, a nongovernmental organization providing HIV... Continue Reading
Written by Barbara Kapenuka and Eddah Nyirenda, Outreach Workers, Pakachere Institute for Health & Development Communication In August 2017, the LINKAGES Malawi project team sat in the conference room at Pakachere, a local implementing partner in Malawi. Key to... Continue Reading
Written by Hally Mahler, Project Director, LINKAGES, and Chris Akolo, Deputy Director for Technical Services, LINKAGES This blog post was first featured on Differentiated Care’s website. “We FSW [female sex workers], we do not have time, we work at night... Continue Reading
Written by Virupax Ranebennur, Senior Technical Advisor, LINKAGES Strategic information and LINKAGES Strategic information (SI) is used to support the implementation of an evidence-based approach across the entire USAID- and PEPFAR-supported LINKAGES project. The system consists of global guidelines that... Continue Reading
Webinaire hébergé par le projet LINKAGES dans le cadre de la série Key Populations: Evidence in Action. Pour accéder à l'enregistrement audio du webinaire, veuillez cliquer ici. Le 12 avril, le projet LINKAGES soutenu par l'USAID et le PEPFAR a... Continue Reading
Written by Virupax Ranebennur, Senior Technical Advisor, LINKAGES What is strategic information? UNAIDS’ 90-90-90 targets focus on three global goals to be achieved by the year 2020: 90 percent of all people living with HIV will know their status, 90... Continue Reading
Written by Rafaela Egg, Senior Prevention Advisor, Management Sciences for Health/LINKAGES This blog post was first featured on Management Sciences for Health’s website. [caption id="attachment_1559" align="alignnone" width="5184"] Photo: Rafaela Egg[/caption] May 30, 2016, LINKAGES’ Peer Educators Training. It is the first... Continue Reading
Webinar hosted by the LINKAGES project as part of the Key Populations: Evidence in action series. To access the audio recording of the webinar, please click here. On March 22nd, the USAID- and PEPFAR-supported LINKAGES project hosted the fourth webinar... Continue Reading
Written by Revati Chawla, Lead Programmes, International HIV/AIDS Alliance “You can only be a good activist if you are alive and well!” These are the profound words of Dennis Wamala, who has experienced violations of his own personal safety while... Continue Reading
Written by Trisa Taro, Program Impact Manager, ITPC The International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) has just released the Key Population Activist Toolkit on PrEP, developed to equip community activists with the knowledge and skills they need to demand pre-exposure prophylaxis... 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.