|
6.1 Training
| PCRS providers
must be well
trained to provide
effective
PCRS services. |
Of all the resources
necessary for
the successful operation
of PCRS programs,
training is perhaps the most critical
(Fenton and Peterman, 1997). Each individual
PCRS provider must receive initial basic
training plus periodic updates on how to
conduct PCRS (including its scientific rationale),
provide client-centered counseling,
protect individuals’ rights to privacy, use
scientific information in prioritizing partners,
administer HIV tests when appropriate, and
defuse potentially violent situations involving
clients, partners or staff (see Section 4.1). PCRS providers also need to understand laws
regarding confidentiality of medical records.
6.2 Quality Assurance and Evaluation
| CDC-funded
PCRS programs
must have a
quality assurance
plan. |
CDC-funded
PCRS programs
must evaluate
their services. |
Quality assurance
for PCRS programs
entails ensuring that
appropriate and
standardized methods
are used for -
- counseling HIV-infected
clients
regarding the
notification of
their partners;
- developing a PCRS plan with HIV-infected
clients;
- prioritizing which partners are to
be reached;
- locating and informing those partners of
their possible exposure to HIV;
- providing immediate counseling and
testing services to informed partners
and/or referring them to other service
providers; and
- collecting, analyzing, using, and storing
PCRS data.
Written job descriptions, including minimum
performance criteria, and comprehensive
procedures for delivering quality PCRS should
be developed and copies made available to all
personnel. Also, supervisors should directly
observe a new PCRS provider until confident
that the provider is proficient in serving clients
and their partners. Then, through periodic
supervisor observation, peer review of selected
cases, and "customer" satisfaction surveys, each
PCRS provider should be given constructive
oral and written feedback.
PCRS programs should include policies relevant
to situations in which an HIV-infected
person knowingly exposes others to HIV.
These policies must comply with relevant state
or local laws.
The overall program should also be regularly
evaluated to determine the quality of effort and
the success in reaching the PCRS goals (Fenton
and Peterman, 1997) (see Section 1.2). Program
evaluations should include a comprehensive
assessment of all confidentiality procedures that
includes, at a minimum, record-keeping.
6.3 How Can CDC Help?
Many types of technical assistance are
available for designing, managing, or evaluating
PCRS through CDC’ s project officers, program
consultants, and network of HIV prevention
partners. In addition, training is provided
through CDC and its contractors that is designed
to enhance PCRS providers' skills
regardless of their level of experience. Finally,
information on the latest scientific findings
about HIV is available through the CDC
National Prevention Information Network
(toll-free, 800-458-5231).
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