What Works for Women and Girls

used the resource “Understanding and Challenging HIV Stigma: A Toolkit for Action”(Kidd et al., 2007; http://www.icrw.org/docs/2003-StigmaToolkit.pdf). The interventionalso provided sharps containers for safe needle disposal as well as providing hospitalworkers with a manual on the “safe and friendly hospital worker in the presence ofHIV/AIDS”. Guidelines for testing for HIV were created and having hospital policies inplace reduced stigma. Approximately 70% of hospital workers were women. (Oanh etal., 2008). (Gray III) (providers, training programs, discrimination, stigma, Vietnam)Training for service providers in county hospitals Yunnan, China resulted in a strongerbelief in patient confidentiality, reduced fear of people living with HIV and better knowledgeand practice of universal precautions. 13 providers were assigned to an interventionor control group and followed for six months (Li et al., 2008). (Gray III) (providers,knowledge, China)A training of trainers for 45 nurse leaders in Vietnam from 2005 to 2007 with threeweektraining workshops including practice resulted in increased willingness to carefor HIV-positive patients according to pre- and post-test evaluations. Between 2006 and2007 the nurse trainers trained an additional 20,488 additional health care providers(Le et al., 2008). (Gray III) (providers, training programs, Vietnam)A pre-post test study in India of training for health workers in a hospital in India witha survey for 885 health workers resulted in less stigmatizing attitudes and practices byhealth workers. Based on interviews with health workers and HIV-positive patients, theproject developed a “PLHA Friendly Checklist” ((http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/pfechklst.pdf)and trained health workers. When presented with data from theirhospital, managers instituted hospital-wide initiatives to combat stigma and discrimination.The number of ward staff who reported that HIV cannot be transmitted bytouching someone with HIV increased significantly from 80% to 96%. After the intervention,doctors were more likely to agree that patients should not be tested for HIVwithout consent, increasing from 37% to 67%. Following training, a significantly greaterproportion of doctors reported that they always arranged pre-test counseling (from 31%to 46%) and post-test counseling (56% to 69%). Following training, more doctors woregloves (64% to 93%) and more ward staff wore gloves to carry blood samples (29% to93%) (Mahendra et al., 2006). (Gray III) (providers, training programs, stigma, discrimination,India)Promising Strategies:3. Couple and family counseling, in addition to individual counseling for people living withHIV, can reduce stigma within households.YRGCare in Chennai, India, a nonprofit HIV counseling, testing and treatment centerfound that HIV-positive individuals reported that couple and family counseling wasWHAT WORKS FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS333