Adherence & Retention
Cotrimoxazole educational tools for clients and providers?
Hi all,
Thanks for this informative and timely online resource! I am working to increase the use of cotrimoxazole among providers and clients who are positive. We are in the process of collecting tools that exist that work to increase access to and use of cotrimoxazole.
I was hoping this community could provide assistance with identifying tools that you use, and suggest best practices.
We hope to identify tools at two levels, tools that encourage providers and health care practitioners to use cotrim more frequently among their HIV positive clients. Things like job aids, simple educational tools, posters for clinics etc. And for clients, people living with HIV, we are looking for educational materials, pamphlets, book marks, community posters etc that encourage people living with HIV to understand why cotrim is so beneficial and to encourage them to ask about this drug at the health facility.
Look forward to hearing from the group, and thanks in advance for your input,
Melissa Sharer
Jessica Haberer, MD, MS
Hi Melissa,
I encountered similar problems with cotrimoxazole uptake when I was working in resource-limited settings. One of the main problems was not education, but rather lack of incentives on the part of the providers. For instance, many providers depend on prescription drug revenue to sustain their practices. Ironically, the very inexpensive cost of cotrimoxazole was therefore leading to reduced prescriptions. Do you think that might be an issue where you are working?
Inexpensive cost is obviously not the issue for patient uptake, and I¹d be interested in seeing what educational resources are available through the community.
Regards,
Jessica
10:05 AM, 18 Nov 2010 | Permalink