Publications by authors named "W F Sims"

Background: According to the 2016-2017 Tanzania HIV Impact Survey, only 45% of men living with HIV (MLWH) were aware of their HIV status. In an effort to increase HIV testing in Tanzania, including among men, the Government of Tanzania passed a law in December 2019 allowing HIV self-testing (HIVST) to be included in the national testing strategies. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and pilot feasibility assessment of the Self-Testing Education and Promotion (STEP) intervention, which includes male peer education and demand creation for HIVST, and nurse-led distribution of HIVST kits in a community setting.

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Background: According to the 2016-2017 Tanzania HIV Impact Survey, only 45% of men living with HIV (MLWH) were aware of their HIV status. In an effort to increase HIV testing in Tanzania, including among men, the Government of Tanzania passed a law in December 2019 to allowing HIV self-testing (HIVST) to be included in the national testing strategies. The objective of this paper is to describe the development and pilot feasibility assessment of the Self-Testing Education and Promotion (STEP) intervention, which was one of the projects conducted in Tanzania focusing on men to inform policy change.

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While disruptions to typical education, special education, and psycho-educational service delivery practices in response to the COVID-19 pandemic have dissipated, their impact magnified educational systems' overreliance on evaluations to determine eligibility for special education and related services. Given that the potential for future disruptions is now ever-present, it is imperative that service providers learn from these recent experiences to improve typical policies, procedures, and practices under normal service delivery circumstances as well as to respond efficiently and effectively to any future disruptions, should they arise. To this end, this work presents several reminders and considerations for multidisciplinary teams related to assessment, testing, special education evaluations, and closely related processes exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Although several international and national HIV/AIDS conferences exist, there was not a national conference in Tanzania focusing on HIV/AIDS disseminating and implementation research conducted in the country and abroad. This created a missed opportunity for researchers to share their research findings with local policymakers and HIV program implementers who can influence the adoption and implementation of promising research in public health and clinical practice settings. In response, the first HIV/AIDS D&I Research Forum designed to enhance local D&I efforts for HIV research, was organized in Tanzania in 2018.

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Evidence has demonstrated that immediate HIV treatment initiation upon a positive HIV test, referred to as Test and Treat, can help people living with HIV live longer, healthier lives and prevent HIV transmission. Although Tanzania adopted the evidence-based Test and Treat strategy since 2016, men were not being adequately reached for HIV services. A national campaign was launched to promote the new HIV services with a focus on men.

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