Essentials of HIV Epidemiology, Clinical Mgt & Strategies in Resource Poor Settings

Course overview

This 5-day course is open to all interested health professionals who are looking for a rapid update on the epidemiology, treatment, and control of HIV and other sexually-transmitted infections. It runs over a calendar week, from Friday to Friday, with no teaching on Wednesday, allowing time for reading, analysis of group work and reflection. The course is part of the three-month course for the Diploma in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, so the orientation is towards practice in developing countries; however the principles are applicable to high income settings as well.

The course provides the essentials in the core principles of HIV epidemiology and control, as well as updates on clinical syndromes and their management, the use of antiretrovirals, and programming for HIV prevention and treatment. The content is kept current with bi-annual updates reflecting the latest developments in approaches, strategies, diagnostics, and treatments for HIV. Students will have the unique opportunity to learn directly from leading HIV experts while working through a diverse range of scenario-based clinical cases that bring theory into practice.

Typical Timetable

Day 1 Friday – TB/HIV

• HIV Introduction
• HIV Control
• HIV – associated TB 1
• HIV – associated TB Group Work
• HIV – associated TB feedback

Day 2 Monday

• ART
• Fungal Ols
• Principles of HIV Resistance – the basics
• Management of treatment failures
• Interactive clinical cases (HIV)

Day 3 Tuesday

• HIV Neuroinfections
• Virtual round
• HIV and GI system
• HIV and breathlessness
• HIV Dermatology

Wednesday – Non teaching day

• Time for readings, analysis of group work, and reflection

Day 4 Thursday

• Paediatric HIV
• HIV and Stigma
• Interactive clinical cases (HIV)

Day 5 Friday

• Clinical cases in the field: managing HIV Ols
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis C
• Acute Hepatitis (A&E)
• Interactive clinical cases (Hepatitis)

Aims

LSTM education courses are taught within a dynamic environment by staff working at the cutting-edge of research in tropical medicine and global health. They are designed to enable the professional development of the student, to be relevant to students from both the UK and overseas and to promote approaches to study that will enable students to continue their learning into the future.

This course aims to:

• Have a good understanding of the current epidemiology of HIV and other STIs.
• Understand the principles of prevention and control of HIV and STIs, including best practice counselling and testing procedures, and antiretroviral treatment strategies.
• Be able to diagnose and treat patients suffering from common STIs.
• Be able to diagnose and treat patients suffering from the common manifestations of HIV disease.
• Have a good understanding of current emerging issues in HIV and STI treatment and control in the developing world

Entrance requirements

Academic requirements

This course will be useful for medical practitioners, prescribing nurse practitioners and clinical officers in a wide range of medical disciplines including primary care, public health, medical microbiology, radiology, respiratory medicine, infectious diseases and HIV medicine.

English language requirements

The course is taught in English and in a postgraduate setting. Students whose first language is not English should be aware that to benefit from the course participants should have English language proficiency at the equivalent of an IELTS (International English Language Testing System) score of at least 6.5.