         
|
|
|
|
1st appeared
22
August 2000
Program to Help Nations Hardest Hit by HIV A UCSF program designed to help HIV/AIDS patients in Africa better manage their disease has received a $350,080 grant from the Secure the Future Foundation, supported by Bristol-Myers Squibb Company.
Directed by William Holzemer, professor and chair of the UCSF School of Nursing department of community health systems, and Naomi Seboni, head of the nursing department at the University of Botswana, the two-year project titled "Self-Care Symptom Management for Persons with HIV Disease" is a collaboration between the University of Botswana, the University of South Africa and UCSF. Among the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS are South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Swaziland. These nations are the focus of the Bristol-Myers Squibb's Secure the Future Program, says Holzemer. In Botswana, Namibia and Swaziland, an estimated one in four people ages 15 to 49 are living with HIV/AIDS, most of them undiagnosed, he adds. Researchers will study 100 patients from each country who are living with HIV/AIDS. The study will focus on understanding what symptom management strategies are being used, identifying the sources of these strategies, and determining which strategies are perceived as helpful. The genesis for the project came in 1998, while Holzemer was serving his second term as an external examiner for the University of Botswana's department of nursing education. During this visit, a nurse working in AIDS care shared a flyer she had prepared on self-management of HIV-related symptoms. One example stated that "the smell of fresh orange peel does wonders to ease nausea." The nurse's work caused Holzemer to wonder what other home-remedies for HIV-related symptoms exist. He wondered if researchers could capture, describe, test and share these strategies. The Secure the Future Foundation grant will support research to generate information that can be used by the African medical community and policymakers to develop a range of practical, cost-effective treatments for resource-limited settings, according to a Bristol-Myers Squibb HIV Research Institute representative. "While the primary goal of HIV therapy in developed countries is to delay progression of the disease through suppressing viral load medications, health care workers are also challenged to assist HIV-infected people to maintain an optimal state of health and quality of life. Self-care management is empowering for patients and their families," says Holzemer. He emphasized that symptom management for people in developing countries is even more important because supplies of anti-retroviral therapies are scarce. |
||
|
DAYBREAK | ARCHIVES
| CALENDAR
| CAMPUS NOTES Copyright ©2000 Regents
of the University of California. All rights reserved. |
||
