POPLINE Document Number: 276672
Corporate Author(s):
Kenya. Ministry of Health
Kenya. National AIDS Control Council
Source citation:
Nairobi, Kenya, Ministry of Health, National AIDS / STD Control Programme, 2002 May. [37] p.
Abstract:
The HIV/AIDS epidemic in Kenya has moved beyond public health crisis to a personal, community, and national development catastrophe. Because the epidemic acts at all these levels, efforts to contain it must also act at individual, community, and national levels. One important way of addressing the epidemic at these points is by developing systems, strategies, and capacities to provide care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHAs) within their own homes and communities. Home-based care represents a partnership in care that has many advantages for the PLWHA, for the PLWHA's family, for the community, and for the health-care system. Home-based care is not only an important mechanism for extending the continuum of care by providing at home the basic nursing care and treatment necessary for many of the afflictions that strike PLWHAs. It also promotes community awareness of HIV/AIDS, provides powerful examples to motivate behaviour change and decrease the stigma attached to the disease, and enables PLWHAs to maintain their family and community roles. Home-based care is cost effective as well. It frees up hospital beds and medical personnel for the acutely ill and thus relieves the burden on the health care system. (excerpt)
Keywords:
KenyaIndex page
Summary Report
HIV Positive Persons
HIV Infections
Treatment
Home Care
Manual
Delivery of Health Care
Policy
National Health Services
Development Plans
Quality Control
Safety
Monitoring
Evaluation
Training Activities
Developing Countries
Africa, Eastern
Africa, Sub Saharan
Africa
Viral Diseases
Diseases
Health Services
Health
Organization and Administration
Public Health
Training Programs
Education