In 2001, the Population Council conducted an assessment in Brazilian border areas, commissioned by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, with support from USAID/Brazil, to determine which populations were most in need of HIV prevention activities. The research findings in the southern region revealed the presence of an extremely mobile, international truck driver community with little or no access to HIV prevention, testing and treatment services. In response to this need, Horizons/Population Council implemented an operations research study focused on trucker drivers (2002-2005) in the south of Brazil. In collaboration with the administration of the customs stations, municipal and state STI and AIDS programmes, and Health Ministries, the investigators sought to examine the feasibility and impact of an HIV prevention project targeted at truckers crossing the southern border of Brazil
This handbook is designed to help HIV/AIDS researchers develop and write a detailed operations research proposal. The organisation of the handbook follows that of a research proposal, starting with identifying, defining and justifying a research problem, ending with how to prepare a budget. Chapters in between cover research objectives, study design, data tabulation, data analysis and dissemination and utilisation of research findings
This paper reports on baseline findings from a study of two programmes for AIDS-affected children and their families implemented by PLAN International in the Luwero and Tororo districts of Uganda. One programme, referred to as orphan support, provides educational, health, and nutritional assistance as well as other services to orphans. The second programme, known as succession planning, reaches AIDS-affected children earlier, by helping HIV-positive parents prepare for their children’s future through counseling, will-writing, appointing guardians, and other measures. The study was designed to assess the impact of the orphan support programme on child wellbeing; explore the acceptability of a succession planning programme in the Ugandan context; assess the impact of succession planning on child wellbeing; and determine the impact of succession planning on adult wellbeing and on guardians' capacity to care for orphans