Home Based Care
Home Care department is a component of Kitovu Mobile AIDS Organisation established
in 1987 with the main purpose of alleviating suffering among the HIV/AIDS
affected individuals.
HBC program is currently operates in 4 districts i.e. Masaka, Rakai, Sembabule
and Lyantonde.
There are 121 centres spread in 4 districts were patients are seen on a fortnight basis. The HBC team consists of 20 nurse/counselors and one medical doctor. At the grassroots the team work with approximately 750 Community Workers who mobilize and sensitise clients to join the program.
Objective
Improved coping mechanisms of people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Output
•
Improved quality of life of PLWHS
•
Strengthened capacity of targeted groups to control the spread of HIV/AIDS.
•
Enhance organizational and community capacity to effectively respond to the
AIDS epidemic.
•
4100 PLWHAS receive medical care
•
1200 AIDS clients and 5000 caregivers counseled annually.
•
400 AIDS and Cancer patients receive palliative care
•
50% of the clients are home visited
•
200 clients receive TB treatment
•
700 clients receive ARVS and home visit
•
20 Self Help Groups are formed per annum
•
4100 80% of all needy clients receive material support
Target groups
• People affected and infected by HIV/AIDS
• Cancer patients
• TB patients
• Community volunteers
• Women, men, girls and boys, Religious leaders
Home Care activities
• Provision of health education/related topics, counselling and medical
treatment
• Provision of palliative care to AIDS / cancer patients
• TB identification, treatment and follow up
• Identify eligible clients for ART and follow up
• Home visits and provision of social and material support to the need
• Formation and facilitation and monitoring of Self Help Groups.
• Education on HIV/AIDS awareness and behavior change
• Support groups of EFL among OVC benefiting from HBC programme
•
Open day’s functions for PLWHA is done every year to foster interaction
between nurses, Community Workers and clients.
• Training of Community Workers in BHC management. Three day residential
workshops conducted in e 3 phases at interval of 3 months.
1-day follow up is done for review and certificates are awarded. A refresher course is conducted to enable community workers update their knowledge an even address imaging issues.
Topics covered:
1. Basics facts about HIV/AIDS
2. Attitude behavior change
3. Family planning
4. Herbal medicine
5. Palliative care
6. Care of patients at home
7. Will making among others
8. Gender
Monthly Community Workers meetings held in respective communities. Each nurse is assigned a Parish and attends to it twice annually. This helps nurses to get feedbacks to their work, discuss and share problematic issues and give support supervision among others.
Facilitate gender issues among the target groups. This is done through gender awareness session to AIDS clients and their caregivers, local and religious leaders. The youth looking at gender roles and how they impact on women and men, roles and responsibilities of men and women, girls and boys in HIV/AID care and prevention.
This helps in empowering of women in decision making together with men. Refresher courses to trained groups plus training of trainers to facilitate women and family and community level is emphasized
Topics covered
1. Sexual exploitation and negotiation of safer sex
2. Social and cultural practices and their impact on women and girls
3. Importance of women participation and empowerment in decision making together
with men.
Achievements
• There is a remarkable improvement in the living conditions among the
targeted beneficiaries/ communities
• 720 clients are receiving ARVS and have had their lives prolonged.
• More than 80% of the clients on ARVS have a good clinical progress, and
have shown treatment adherence.
• 288 clients received palliative care they had the pain relived.
• Through Self Help Groups, poor clients have learnt a cultural of saving,
which has enabled them meet some of their basic needs.
• HBC team developed user-friendly information; education and communication
materials which enabled Community Workers easily carry out health education.
• Food supplements were given to needy clients, which helped to ensure
food security and improve drug adherence.
• Community Workers who received refresher courses were able to apply the
learned skills in their day-to-day activities.
• As an alternative to supplement western medicines, nurse counselors widely
used herbal medicines to relive several complaints.
• Through Gender awareness raising seminars, communities