Oral

For the last three years, Boston University (with sponsorship from USAID) has undertaken a systematic program of operations, applied, and evaluative research to help bridge the gaps in our experience and knowledge about how to scale up services to the 145 million children around the world who have lost one or both parents to HIV/AIDS or other causes. This session presents the results of four key research activities at a global, national, and local scale. The first presentation demonstrates the impact of local programming through faith-based organizations at a community level through a longitudinal study in Zambia. The second presentation discusses the effectiveness of household economic strengthening activities in improving outcomes for children and families on a regional level in Kenya. The third presentation takes a national perspective in India through an analysis of organizational networking and the impact of strong networks on the effectiveness of the national AIDS control program. The final presentation examines attempts to design an instrument for evaluating OVC outcomes and the limitations of such attempts through a validation study of the Child Status Index tool. The session will conclude with questions about the direction of the future research agenda for OVC and where leadership for this agenda should lie.

Session Objectives: Compare the effectiveness of different approaches to OVC care in improving outcomes Evaluate the impact of OVC programming to shape future policy Describe how OVC programming can be improved in the future

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)