The education and training program at BIPAI Uganda began in
2003 and seeks to strengthen and enhance medical education for health
professionals involved in pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment. Results are
measured to determine the success of the programs.
To-date, over 2,000 national and international health
professionals have been trained. The training is conducted in collaboration
with the Department of Pediatrics and Child Health of Makerere University,
Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative (BIPAI), Ministry Of Health
(MoH) and African Network for the Care of Children Affected by HIV/AIDS
(ANECCA). Educational topics include:
- Community home-based care and support
- Dry blood spot (DBS)
- Good lab practices
- Infant feeding
- Pediatric HIV/AIDS counseling
- Pediatric HIV/AIDS management
- Positive prevention
- Routine counseling and testing
- Training of trainer (TOT)
Pre-service training
BIPAI Uganda trains interns and postgraduate students from
Makerere University Medical School in pediatric HIV/AIDS management. The
training helps students acquire the necessary skills and competency to
establish and manage pediatric HIV/AIDS services. This program soon will be
extended to schools for clinical officers and nurses.
In addition, undergraduate students from Kampala
International, Makerere, Kyambogo and Mukono universities come to the BIPAI
Uganda COE for internships in counseling, home health, laboratory, social work
and human resources.
In-service training
BIPAI Uganda provides on-site mentorship to build clinical
competency. The program takes three months to complete and helps expand
pediatric HIV/AIDS health services outside the COE. Trainees are physicians,
clinical officers, nurses, nursing students and nurse assistants.
Continuous professional development
To continuously update health practitioners on issues and
developments in pediatric HIV/AIDS care and treatment weekly continuous medical
education (CMEs) and organizational learning sessions are conducted for staff
and others from nearby health institutions.
Mentorship and support supervision
In order to consolidate the knowledge given and ensure that
it is translated into practice, three on-site mentorship visits are carried out
in the facilities where trainees are placed. Only those who are able to provide
standard care, including enrolling at least five children, graduate with a
certificate of competence. To-date, 47% of students have graduated.
Facilities with a high proportion of health care providers
and those that attain strengthened systems are graduated to support
supervision. To date 23 out of the 33 facilities have achieved support
supervision status.