Participatory evaluation of counselling, medical and social services of The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) in Uganda.

The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) is an indigenous non-governmental organization (NGO) of HIV-infected and affected people in Uganda. TASO provides counselling, social support, medical and nursing care for opportunistic infections at 7 centres affiliated to district hospitals in Uganda. Between 1993 and 1994, the services provided by TASO were evaluated through a participatory approach between staff and clients. TASO counselling services helped clients and their families to cope with HIV and AIDS, with 90.4% of clients revealing their serostatus, and 57.2% reporting consistent use of condoms in the past 3 months. TASO was also the main source of medical care for clients with opportunistic infections in the last 6 months (63.8%). As a result of counselling, over half of the clients (56.9%) made plans for the future and 51.3% wished to make wills. There was a high level of acceptance of people living with HIV/AIDS (PWAs) by families (79%) and the community (76%). Care was provided to PWAs at home mainly by women (86.2%). TASO has demonstrated that individuals and their families are able to live positively with HIV/AIDS. Through counselling, medical care and material support to clients and their families, TASO has effected change in people's attitudes, knowledge and lifestyles. In particular, TASO has demonstrated a strong capacity to overcome four problems that haunt AIDS care in most places: (1) revealing one's HIV-serostatus to relevant others; (2) accepting PWAs in family and community; (3) seeking early treatment; and (4) combining prevention and care. In general, TASO has shown that specialized services to meet AIDS care needs can be added to existing health services at district levels. As a result of the participatory evaluation, a well-accepted monitoring system was established.

PIP: The AIDS Support Organization (TASO) is an indigenous nongovernmental organization of HIV-infected and affected people in Uganda. The organization provides counseling, social support, and medical and nursing care for opportunistic infections at seven centers affiliated with district hospitals in Uganda. TASO's services were evaluated during 1993-94 via a participatory approach involving staff and clients. The organization's counseling services helped clients and their families to cope with HIV and AIDS, with 90.4% of clients revealing their serostatus, and 57.2% reporting the consistent use of condoms during the preceding 3 months. TASO was the main source of medical care for clients with opportunistic infections during the preceding 6 months. As a result of counseling, 56.9% of clients made plans for the future and 51.3% wished to make wills. The evaluation further found a high level of acceptance of people with HIV/AIDS (PWA) by families (79%) and the community (76%). Women provided 86.2% of in-home care to PWA. TASO's experience demonstrates that individuals and their families can live positively with HIV/AIDS and that specialized AIDS care services can be readily added to existing health services at the district level.

TASO Participatory Evaluation of Counselling; Medical and Welfare Services to PWHIV/AIDS

"The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO) has been in operation for now nearly six years and has been experiencing changes as it grows in providing care to people with hIV/AIDS and in promoting prevention of HIV spread. Management decided to carry out an evaluation of the counselling; medical and social welfare services in order to look at the efficiency of those services. an evaluation counsultant from WHO/GPA is offering guidance in the exercise. The methodology used in this evaluation is particpatory in which TASO staff and TASO clients are involved in gathering qualitative and quantitative data from TASO staff; ""TASO clients; families of PWHIV/AIDS and community representatives. Questionnaires; focus group discussion; key informant interviews; observations; case studies."