Thread by @uequals2u

Hi guys! Since many of us only know about outreach and case management in Differentiated HIV Services for Key Population, we guess it's high time to talk about another branch of the model; Peer Support. This is a thread.

#InformativeTuesday

HIV peer support is a social support system in which people who live well with HIV support, inform and coach people who become recently infected or are experiencing challenges particular to living with HIV.

It is based on a peer-to-peer philosophy, assuming that people who have gone through the experience of becoming infected with HIV, accepted their HIV diagnosis, dealt with HIV disclosure concerns, and been successfully on HIV treatment have a deeper understanding and ...

... therapeutic insight on how best to negotiate and thrive in life despite HIV.

Good peer support creates opportunities for both parties to grow and achieve a sense of control and empowerment through the sharing of experiences, overcoming challenges and being open about their HIV diagnoses with another person.

It can be formal or informal, and can range from friends sharing, to people within groups supporting each other, to a befriending service, or a service with well-established objectives such as initiating and adhering to treatment.

Peer support is a reciprocal relationship, benefitting both those providing and receiving the support.

Benefits can include creating and sharing collective strategies to maintain and optimise health and social opportunities, building resilience and self-esteem and aiding advocacy and collective action.

Structured peer support as part of the DHSKP-model is delivered by trained peer volunteers, in both one-to-one or in group settings and in both online and offline settings.

Trained peer supporters model positive and healthy behaviour and help peer beneficiaries link to or remain in services.

They can also provide or point the way to reliable and appropriate information. The focus is on strengths and abilities, motivating and working to achieve agreed goals and improve or maintain quality of life.

Under the DHSKP-model peer supporters are recruited from among the population of people living with HIV, and matched to clients via key population matching. Other features that can play a role in matching a peer with a peer beneficiary are age, ethnicity and religion.

Many HIV treatment facilities already have support groups of people living with HIV. The DHSKP approach aims to formalize these groups, and recruit peer supporters from among them, and make peer support more structured.

It is assumed that peer support benefits PLHIV who have already gone through the shock of being diagnosed and have already accessed HIV treatment and care in clinical settings.

They may or may not have been supported by an HIV case manager; they could also have been referred for peer support by a counselor, doctor or by a friend who is also living with HIV.

Eventually, the DHSKP model hopes there will be HIV support groups organized around all HIV treatment facilities in Malaysia.

Under the DHSKP-model, people who are newly diagnosed are assessed by either a ‘client care manager’ or a trained case worker first.

If the triage indicates there are no serious and urgent needs to be addressed by the case worker and medical staff, or if clients refuse case management support, HIV peer support is offered to them.

Clients can also be referred to peer supporters after they have completed a short or longer period of case management; they can be referred by a counselor, nurse or medical doctor, or they can be referred via friends who are already benefitting from peer support.

HIV peer supporters are initially recruited via existing informal HIV support groups that already exist around HIV treatment centers in Malaysia.

They can also be recruited via case workers, who could ask potentially suitable peer supporters among their clients if they would be interested to play a peer support role for others.

After recruitment, HIV peer supporters are given a three-day peer-mentoring training so they understand what their role is. The peer mentoring training is to ensure peers are ready to support others. It can only be facilitated by a person who lives well with HIV, and no one else.

The reason for this is simple, only someone living well with HIV know the pitfalls of what it requires to embrace HIV and build a productive life that includes HIV.

Source: Manual of Procedures DHSKP
Thread by: @xnxthxrmxthxr95

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