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No single intervention has been shown to be convincingly effective in treating molluscum contagiosum.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) RNA testing and HIV drug resistance (HIVDR) testing are not routinely available for therapeutic monitoring of patients receiving antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings. World Health Organization HIVDR early warning indicators (EWIs) assess ART site factors known to favor the emergence of HIVDR. HIV drug resistance EWI monitoring was performed within the PharmAccess African Studies to Evaluate Resistance Monitoring (PASER-M) study, comprising 13 ART sites in 6 African countries. Early warning indicator assessment in the PASER network identified vulnerable aspects of ART programs and triggered interventions aimed at minimizing HIVDR emergence. Additionally, data suggest an advantage of medication possession ratio over on-time antiretroviral drug pickup in identifying patients at risk for HIVDR development.

Objective Leprosy has rarely been the subject of health psychology research despite its substantial impact. Our aim was to explore illness perceptions in patients and their health care providers in Surinam. The Common Sense Model (CSM) was the guiding theoretical model. Design Patients with biomedically cured leprosy and their health care providers completed the B-IPQ and took part in semi-structured interviews. The literature on illness perceptions in patients with leprosy was reviewed. Main outcome measures Patients' B-IPQ scores were compared with samples of patients with other (chronic) illnesses, and with health care providers completing the questionnaire as if they were visibly disfigured patients. Quotations from the semi-structured interviews were used to contextualise the illness perceptions. Results Patients' B-IPQ scores reflected the chronic nature of leprosy and were comparable with those with other chronic illnesses. Health care providers perceived leprosy to have a greater negative impact than did the patients. Perceived understanding of causes differed considerably between patients and health care providers. Conclusion Leprosy continues to be experienced as an illness with major psychological and social consequences such as stigmatisation, even after biomedical cure. Interventions that target patients, health care providers, and society at large may help reduce perceived shame and stigma. The CSM is a helpful theoretical model in studying this population.

This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a program to prepare HIV Nurse Practitioners in Zambia. Thirty nurses from all nine Zambian provinces participated in this program. Data on a variety of indicators were collected at baseline and throughout the one-year program including student and supervisor assessments, student performance on pre- and post-tests, clinical and case study assessments, documentation of care in patients’ health records, and their performance on final oral and written examinations. Findings indicated that the students were able to achieve the identified competencies and that their supervisors perceived that they would be able to implement their expanded skills to improve care for patients with HIV and AIDS in Zambia. Lessons learned from this initial pilot project will be used to expand the program in order to ensure successful task-shifting to address the critical shortage of health workers in Zambia in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.