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 Tiffany Lillie, Senior Technical Advisor, LINKAGES The USAID- and PEPFAR-supported LINKAGES project aims to increase the number of key population (KP) members who are tested for HIV and who begin and remain in treatment after testing positive. To... Continue Reading
Written by Tiffany Lillie, Senior Technical Advisor, LINKAGES [caption id="attachment_869" align="aligncenter" width="625"] Photo: International AIDS Alliance[/caption] Peer navigation bridges the divide between members of key populations (KPs) who are living with HIV and the health systems in their communities that... Continue Reading
Written by Rose Wilcher, Director, Research Utilization, FHI 360, and Hally Mahler, Project Director, LINKAGES This blog post was originally featured on FHI 360’s Degrees. [caption id="attachment_856" align="alignnone" width="800"] Photo: Jessica Scranton, FHI 360[/caption] Next week, leading scientists and cutting-edge thinkers... Continue Reading
Written by Cecilia Amaral, Global Health Corps Fellow, IntraHealth International, and Carol Bales, Senior Communications & Advocacy Officer, IntraHealth International This blog post was originally featured on IntraHealth International’s VITAL blog. [caption id="attachment_807" align="alignnone" width="1188"] Photos: Alex Collins, Senior... Continue Reading
Written by Brun Gonzalez, Chair of Board of Directors of the International Network of People who Use Drugs (INPUD) and Judy Chang, INPUD Executive Director [caption id="attachment_771" align="alignnone" width="2048"] Photos provided by: Brun Gonzalez[/caption] The Injecting Drug User Implementation Tool (IDUIT), jointly developed by... Continue Reading
This blog has been reposted from Prepwatch.org; the original posting can be found here. Contributed by Neeraja Bhavaraju and Daniela Uribe from FSG, a member of the OPTIONS Consortium. In June 2016, South Africa’s National Department of Health began making... Continue Reading
Written by Christio Wijnhard, Project Coordinator for the LINKAGES Project at Foundation He+HIV, Suriname Even though Clarence suspected that he might HIV-positive, the 24-year-old was shocked when he first learned his status. “I cried and I cried. I wanted to commit suicide. I... Continue Reading
Written by Georgia Arnold, executive director and founder of the MTV Staying Alive Foundation, and executive producer of the award-winning “edutainment’ campaign, MTV Shuga. MTV Shuga is a 360 mass media campaign that uses the power of entertainment to generate... Continue Reading
Written by Beyonce Karungi, Executive Director, Transgender Equality Uganda The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the largest international gathering of governments and civil society dedicated to developing an agenda that promotes progress for women and girls. Each year, the UN brings... 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.