Researchers of the European Institute of Public Health Policy participated in the 25th International AIDS Conference “AIDS 2024”, which was held from July 22 to 26, 2024 in Munich (Germany).
On July 24, during the poster session of the event, our scientist Iryna Zaviriukha presented data on the resilience of Peer Navigation among HIV Positive Older People (OPWH, defined as ≥50 years) in multi-crisis during the war in Ukraine. The corresponding study was conducted within the framework of the project PROST “Adapting Peer Navigation for Out-of-Care Older Persons with HIV in Ukraine”.
In 2023, in Kyiv, we organized training and provided ongoing supervision for a group Peer Navigators (PNs), who, in turn, were ready to provide support to their clients – OPWH. PNs had the opportunity to receive not only supervision support, but also personal therapy sessions. In personal therapy, consultants had the opportunity to work on their own emotional problems, which in turn allowed them to become more stable in working with clients and choose the right way to help the person who was assigned to them.
The analysis of the study results showed that in the stressful conditions of war, the flexible psychological supervision provided Peer Navigators was vital both for them and for their clients: a commune of people was formed who are able to cooperate, communicate effectively and be friends
Also, during the Conference “AIDS 2024”, we had the opportunity to meet with scientists from Yale University, with whom we are jointly implementing PORADA project in Ukraine “Adapting a disclosure decision-aid to improve HIV outcomes for older adults in Ukraine” aimed at providing comprehensive assistance to the OPWH. Based on the best global models and practices, we have developed the manual “PORADA” for this group of clients. It should serve as a convenient and effective guide – an assistant for deciding whether or not to disclose information about one’s HIV status to others; if so, to whom exactly and in what way it is better to do it.
Currently, the pilot version of the manual is ready, and soon we will test it among the project participants – OPWH.
Our international research team was happy to personally share with colleagues, particularly from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region, the new knowledge we gained during the development of the guide and to receive their feedback. We hope that scientists, clinicians and all those interested in similar problems will be able to use our findings in the work in their countries.
The International AIDS Conference, organized and hosted by the International AIDS Society (IAS), every two years, is the premier global platform to advance the HIV response. As the world’s largest conference on HIV and AIDS, it sits uniquely at the intersection of science, advocacy and human rights, bringing together scientists, policy makers, healthcare professionals, people living with HIV, funders, media and communities. Since its start in 1985, the conference has served as an opportunity to strengthen policies and programmes that ensure an evidence-based response to HIV and related epidemics.
