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

Abstract #117158

Jessica Halverson, MPH, MSW, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, 120 Wall Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10005, (212) 214-0213, jhalverson@ippfwhr.org, Rupal Sanghvi, MPH, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, IPPF/WHR, 120 Wall Street, 9th Floor, New York, NY 10005, and Jane Galvao, PhD, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, International Planned Parenthood Federation/Western Hemisphere Region, 120 Wall St., 9th Floor, New York, NY 10005.

Background: The incorporation of HIV, AIDS, and STI services into traditional family planning services is both a complex and unique process. IPPF/WHR initiated its HIV, AIDS, STI Integration project among six Member Associations in 2002. An evaluation of the project in 2004 revealed that the participating organizations made significant gains in achieving integration. Nonetheless, true ‘Integration' would require a longer, more comprehensive process with substantial investment of resources. This presentation will present lessons learned from the experience of the project's six participating associations.

Lessons Learned: 1. The self-evaluation model was a helpful means of identifying an association's individual strengths and weaknesses. 2. A multi-disciplinary training/sensitization workshop fostered staff integration, teamwork, and increased the project's prioritization among employees. 3. The integration process must be systematized, including basic standardized norms/protocols, and ongoing monitoring and evaluation. It should also be linked to a quality of care process. 4. Before providing services, certain critical elements must be in place. 5. General offering of HIV services appears to mostly reach the ‘worried well.' The process must seek more inclusive measures and reach out to specific vulnerable populations in order to reach those most at risk. 6. The entire integration process must be tailored to each association's individual needs. 7. Mere implementation of HIV services in not sustainable. True integration necessitates sustainability plans and/or ongoing investments.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Understand potential service-level barriers to HIV integration into SRH programs.
• 2. Identify programming components that improve integration efforts.
• 3. Recognize the complexity of the integration process, as well as the investment required for effective realization.

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