Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #104280

Matthew W. Roberts, PhD and Andrea May. Center on AIDS & Community Health (COACH), Academy for Educational Development (AED), 1825 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20009, 202-884-8813, amay@aed.org

Issues: Increasingly it is recognized that programs targeting workforces in developing countries can be an important method to reducing HIV/AIDS transmission, stigma, and discrimination. However, managers are reluctant to provide access to employees or invest resources in such programs. Further, employees and their representatives are frequently untrusting of programs initiated by management. Developing techniques and tools to win business and labor leaders' active involvement is SMARTWork's focus.

Description: SMARTWork is implemented by Academy for Educational Development in Dominican Republic, Haiti, Nigeria, Ukraine, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe. SMARTWork has created a unique set of training materials, tailored advocacy presentations, workshops, 1-on-1 technical assistance, and TOT used with business, labor, and other leaders at the enterprise and national levels.

Lessons Learned: SMARTWork demonstrates how an evidence-based policy and program model to address HIV/AIDS can be applied successfully in the private sector. By strategically enlisting business and labor representatives simultaneously in a systematic process to analyze how HIV/AIDS is affecting their workforces and business operations, they can be engaged in developing comprehensive and sustainable HIV/AIDS policies and programs for the workplace. Using the same approach cross-organizationally also catalyzes this process nationally. As a result, even project with limited staff and resources can have a tremendous impact.

Recommendations: Other organizations should be encouraged to utilize and/or adapt SMARTWork's materials to create workplace HIV/AIDS programs that are highly effective and cost efficient.

Learning Objectives:

• To learn new tools for developing and implementing HIV/AIDS policies and programs at the workplace. Also learn about effective advocacy approaches with business and labor leaders.

Keywords: International, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation