It is critical that health care providers receive the necessary training to empower them to improve patient outcomes CHARESS supports both pre-service and in-service training efforts in Haiti. In particular, CHARESS is a key partner of MSPP in maintaining its national clinical guidelines.
Most recently, CHARESS mentors and trainers have led efforts on the adoption of new clinical guidance including the roll-out of routine HIV viral load monitoring, distribution of antiretroviral therapy (ART) at the community level (known by its French acronym DAC), multi-month scripts (MMS) for ART, and new HIV drugs. All of these efforts have contributed to the practice of “differentiated service delivery” which results in client-centered care that meets the needs of the individual and reduces the burden on the health facility. For more information, see the International AIDS Society’s website. I-TECH presented on the results of the MMS initiative in March 2018. Preliminary results of the shift to longer intervals between ART drug refills demonstrate that patients and providers welcome the change and patients are more likely to remain on treatment longer as a result.