Caring for the caregivers: models of HIV/AIDS care and treatment provision for health care workers in Southern Africa

Abstract

Rollout of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been successfully initiated in many countries, but concerns have been raised about the ability to meet treatment needs in areas where there is a high prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and where there are severe deficits in human-resource capacity. Many health care workers in resource-poor areas are experiencing burnout, struggling with external and internal stigma, failing to access HIV testing and treatment early, and subsequently becoming sick and dying of AIDS. Although the human-resource deficit is a well-recognized problem, little has been written about the programs that have been established to provide treatment for HIV-infected health care workers. In the present article, we describe staff care programs at McCord Hospital in Durban, South Africa; Mseleni Hospital in northern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa; and the Tshedisa Institute in Gaborone, Botswana. These programs provide convenient, confidential, and holistic care for HIV-infected health care workers and health care workers affected by caring for HIV-infected patients. All 3 programs have noted that, among health care workers, there is increasing acceptance of counseling, testing, and treatment. We propose that there is an urgent need for the development of HIV/AIDS care and treatment programs for health care workers that remove barriers to access, provide confidentiality in testing, are conveniently located, and are integrated with tuberculosis programs and other treatment services.