Journal of the International AIDS Society Blog
Internship with International AIDS Society for six months starting February 2012
The International AIDS Society (IAS) is the world's leading independent association of HIV professionals. It has more than 16,000 members from 196 countries. The IAS is a non-profit organization acting as an independent voice in the global response to AIDS on behalf of its members. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland.
The IAS is the custodian of the world’s premier gathering on HIV and AIDS, the International AIDS Conference, which takes place every two years. In the intervening years the IAS organizes the IAS Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention Conference, a scientific meeting focused on current research and its applicability in the scale-up of prevention and treatment of HIV.
The IAS plays a leading role in policy and advocacy, working to implement effective, evidence-based policies and programmes to enhance the global response to AIDS. The IAS engages in a range of policy and advocacy activities on behalf of its membership, including promoting knowledge and dialogue onsite at the conferences, as well as promoting dialogue and advocacy for an evidence based response to AIDS in other fora.
The Research Promotion department within the IAS strives to promote scientific research as a critical component of the global response to AIDS. Programmes within this department, such as the Industry Liaison Forum, grants, fellowships and prizes initiative as well as the Journal of the IAS, foster high quality, innovative research across disciplines to help strengthen research capacity. The Research Promotion team aims to highlight the importance of research by identifying research priorities, mapping knowledge gaps, and mobilizing key stakeholders to accelerate research progress.
The IAS is seeking an Intern to work within the Research Promotion department, starting anytime from February 2012 as soon as possible for six months duration, full-time. The position is based at the IAS offices in Geneva, Switzerland and reports to the Senior Manager of the Research Promotion department.
Description:
Benefits of the internship experience:
- Insight into the work of an international, non-governmental organization
- Gaining experience in a multi-disciplinary team focusing on promoting HIV research
- Travel and attendance of an international scientific HIV conference
Main responsibilities include:
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Handle communication needs of the team including coordination of promotional strategies, writing blogs, and contributing to social media activities
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Support a variety of administrative tasks of the team such as updating databases, calendar planning, and creating promotional material
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Support the work of the department in preparation and during the International HIV Conference in July 2012, for example managing logistics and assisting the running of meetings and workshops
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Write reports such as meeting summaries and regular updates
The following skills, focus and qualifications are essential:
- Undergraduate degree in any discipline and with a personal interest in public health
- Excellent written and oral English language communication skills; fluency in additional UN languages a plus;
- Excellent computer skills in the Windows environment (particularly Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook, Powerpoint, Endnote);
- Excellent project, time management and organizational skills;
- Ability to work efficiently under pressure, and occasionally work overtime; availability for travel from 16-29 July 2012.
Only candidates from Switzerland or from an EU/EFTA country already having a valid Swiss working permit will be considered. A monthly remuneration of 1000 CHF will be provided.
Your application, written in English and including your CV and a personal letter of not more than one page, should be sent by email only to ResearchPromotion@iasociety.org no later than 5 February 2012. Due to a large number of applicants, only short-listed applicants will be contacted.
The IAS is committed to recruiting and sustaining a skilled, effective, diverse and gender balanced secretariat, and to the greater involvement of people living with HIV (GIPA) in all aspects of its work. People living with HIV are encouraged to apply.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 08:42 Comments (0)
Fogarty HIV Research Training Programme Funding Opportunities
The
funding opportunity announcements for the new Fogarty HIV Research
Training Programme have been published. The Fogarty HIV Research Training
Programme consolidates the AIDS International Training and Research Programme
(AITRP) and the International Clinical, Operations and Health Services Research
Training Award for AIDS and TB (ICOHRTA TB) for funding in fiscal year
2013. This programme supports training to strengthen the human capacity to
contribute to the ability of the institutions in low- and middle-income
countries (LMIC) to conduct HIV-related in their country and to compete
independently for research funding. See http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups for list of the
countries by income group to determine eligibility.
The Fogarty HIV Research Training Programme (http://www.fic.nih.gov/Programs/Pages/hiv-aids-research-training.aspx) solicits application under three different Funding Opportunities Announcements (FOAs).
The D43 FOA is soliciting applications to support research training to develop and strengthen the scientific leadership and expertise needed for HIV-related research at LMIC institutions. Fogarty HIV Research Training Programme for Low- and Middle-Income Country Institutions (D43) (PAR-12-068). John E. Fogarty International Center, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Drug Abuse, National Institute of Mental Health. Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): July 24, 2012, July 24, 2013, July 24, 2014.
The D71 FOA is soliciting planning grant applications to support LMIC institutions to plan and develop an application for a research training programme in response to the FOA for a research training programme. Limited Competition: Planning Grant for Fogarty HIV Research Training Programme for Low- and Middle-Income Country Institutions (D71) (PAR-12-070). John E. Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Mental Health. Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): July 24, 2012, July 24, 2013, July 24, 2014.
The G11 FOA is soliciting applications from U.S. institutions with on-going HIV research collaborations at LMIC institutions to support training to develop and strengthen research infrastructure, leadership and expertise at their collaborating LMIC institution. Training Programmes for Critical HIV Research Infrastructure for Low- and Middle-Income Country Institutions (G11) (PAR-12-069). John E. Fogarty International Center, National Institute of Mental Health. Application Receipt/Submission Date(s): July 24, 2012, July 24, 2013, July 24, 2014.
Current
AITRP and ICOHRTA AIDS TB award institutions will be eligible to compete under
the new programme as they come up for re-competition with all 42 awards having
the opportunity to transition by FY2016. While the areas for training permitted
under the programme will be broad to include HIV-related research and selected
critical research infrastructure areas, each application will need to focus on
building or strengthening capacity in a particular scientific or critical
research infrastructure area at a LMIC institution. The applicant is
expected to collaborate and leverage other efforts at the designated LMIC
institution, regardless of funding source, and will need to demonstrate that
the proposed training is “distinct” and not duplicative of other efforts at
LMIC institution. Also, the applicant will need to define measures that can be
used to demonstrate increased capacity in that area at the end of the award
funding period. This approach will help grantees and NIH to better monitor and
evaluate the progress individual training awards and the programme as a whole
are making in achieving the objective by moving beyond output indicators
(number and type of people trained) to outcome indicators (increased research
capacity at LMIC institution).
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 21:12 Comments (0)
JIAS congratulates The Lancet for adopting the Editorial Gender Policy
The Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) congratulates the scientific journal The Lancet for its decision to encourage researchers to enrol more women into clinical trials and to plan to analyse data by sex as a matter of routine, not only when known to be scientifically appropriate.
The step taken by the Lancet follows scientific evidence showing that men and women experience disease and respond to treatment in different ways. A study published recently by the same journal showed that women who smoke have a higher risk of coronary heart disease and lung cancer than male smokers. Also, in many diseases women have more side-effects from treatment than men, due to differences in body surface areas, body mass and amount of adipose tissue. Similar studies show how being female or male can be an important factor of health, illness and response to treatment than what we know now, and The Lancet’s decision to encourage a gender-oriented policy for clinical trials will hopefully help to provide more data on this aspect.
The JIAS is extremely pleased to see that an editorial gender policy initially adopted by this journal http://www.jiasociety.org/content/14/1/11 has now been embraced by other publications and JIAS is proud to have taken a leading position on such an important issue. The introduction of this policy from the JIAS followed a Consensus Statement of the Industry Liaison Forum (ILF) that specifically recommended “that research data should be disaggregated by sex to ensure opportunities for gender based analysis using a variety of indicators, such as retention in ART programmes, morbidity and mortality, loss to follow-up, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic parameters”.
The Lancet decision follows the first European Gender Summit (Brussels, November 8-9 2011) in which a group of organizations including the Lancet and JIAS discussed the issue of gender in research and scientific publication. Evidence presented at the summit showed that fewer women than men reach high-level jobs in medicine and science despite women being the majority of students at university, and that without quotas or targets, it will take a long time to reach equality. The JIAS hopes that gender policy initiatives will soon be promoted for a better gender balance in publications, editorial teams and among authors and reviewers.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 16:06 Comments (0)
JIAS marks WORLD AIDS DAY 2011, looking at our new buzz words.
“Momentum is on our side. Let us use it to end AIDS – once and for all” The U.N. Secretary General
We are now heading into the fourth decade of the HIV/AIDS epidemic and as never before in its history the progress made so far has given us more optimism and hope to say that an AIDS-free generation is possible.
Marking this year’s World AIDS Day, which brings together people from around the globe to raise awareness about HIV/AIDS, we are faced however with many challenges ahead. The economic downturn has stretched the AIDS response to the limits and words such as “cost-effectiveness” are gaining greater importance. In his recent plenary talk at the Caribbean HIV Conference Professor Alan Whiteside, Director of HEARD, JIAS Editorial Board Member and IAS treasurer remarked: ”The key is to recognize constraints and while trying to increase resources, do better with what we have. Efficiency must be a key new word in our vocabulary.”
The AIDS dialogue now revolves around ensuring a sustainable response; “sustainability” meaning “the capacity to endure” (Wikipedia). But Prof Whiteside rightly asked a pertinent question of what do we mean by sustainability and what is it that needs to be sustained? Prevention efforts remain of the highest importance in order address issues such as a growing case load, stretched health systems and strained human resources. Treatment is another key area to be sustained particularly in light of the evidence that treatment can play a role also in prevention efforts.
The JIAS is engaged in this dialogue by supporting the dissemination of findings from operational studies, from the implementation field, health economics and modelling. A recent article addressing these issues was published for example in May 2011 by Sydney Rosen and colleagues on “The net cost of incorporating resistance testing into HIV/AIDS treatment in South Africa: a Markov model with primary data”. Cross-disciplinary and innovative approaches are now more needed than ever and the JIAS will continue to be a platform for sharing essential knowledge.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 15:58 Comments (0)
The IAS-NIDA fellowship team is pleased to announce that the IAS-NIDA mentors list is online!
The IAS-NIDA fellowship programme was established by the International AIDS Society (IAS) with the support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). The goal of this fellowship programme is to contribute to advances in the scientific understanding of drug use and HIV while fostering multinational research.
This fellowship programme consists of two types of awards for training: US$75,000 to be awarded to a junior scientist for 18-months post-doctoral training and US$75,000 to be awarded to a well-established HIV researcher for eight-month long professional development training. Applications from a wide range of disciplines including social, behavioral, political, clinical, biomedical, mathematical sciences or others will be accepted.
All fellows are required to choose a mentor at an institution different from their current institution. The mentor must hold an established post for the duration of the fellowship and have a track record in research and training in HIV and drug use. To facilitate the application process and to encourage international candidates who may not have a mentor in mind, IAS and NIDA are providing a list of potential mentors and a description of their research interests. This list is intended to help prospective fellows choose a mentor in their field of interest, but fellows are not required to choose a mentor from this list. After identifying a potential mentor, prospective fellows should contact the mentor to discuss the possibility of working on a specific research project.
Any questions may be directed to ResearchPromotion@iasociety.org.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 07:37 Comments (0)
Become a Mentor for the AIDS 2012 Conference Abstract Mentor Programme today!
Become a Mentor and help increase motivation and acceptances of abstracts from developing countries and early-career researchers!
In its fifth year already, the goal of the AIDS 2012 Abstract Mentor Programme is to provide an opportunity for young and/or less experienced researchers from resource-limited settings who lack access to opportunities for rigorous mentoring in research and writing to ask for feedback from experienced abstract submitters.
The programme is entirely dependent on volunteer experienced researchers.
An eligible mentor fulfills the following criteria:
· Has had two abstracts accepted at an international scientific conference, and
· Has been the author of at least one manuscript accepted by a peer-reviewed scientific journal
The programme duration is from the 17th November 2011 to the 1st February 2012 concluding 15 days before the deadline for abstract submissions.
In order to ensure impartiality of the programme, the identity of the abstract submitter and the mentor will be anonymous and the participation in the mentoring programme will not prevent mentors from submitting their own abstracts.
If you are interested in becoming an AIDS 2012 Mentor or if you have any further inquiries on the programme, please contact the AIDS 2012 Abstract Mentor Programme by email at mentor@aids2012.org no later than November 4, 2011.
Sign up to be an AMP Mentor today and spread the word on online mentoring!
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 14:27 Comments (0)
Apply Now for Fellowship Programme Encouraging HIV and Drug Use Research
With the support of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), the International AIDS Society (IAS) has established a research fellowship programme focusing on HIV and drug use, with the goal of contributing to advances in the scientific understanding of drug use and HIV, while fostering international collaborative research on HIV and drug use.
The fellowship programme is awarded as a stipend of US$75,000 in two categories: to a junior scientist for 18-month post-doctoral training, or to a well-established HIV researcher for an eight-month-long professional development training at leading host institutes excelling in HIV-related drug use research.
The two initial fellowships were awarded at the 5th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention, which took place in Cape Town, South Africa on 19-22 July 2009.
In 2012, up to four fellowships will be awarded. The fellows and their mentors will be invited to attend the XIX International AIDS Conference (AIDS 2012), to be held in Washington, USA, from 22 to 27 July 2012.
Online applications will be accepted from 8 December 2011 until 10 February 2012. For more information about eligibility and the application process, as well as to apply, please click here.
Any questions may be directed to ResearchPromotion@iasociety.org.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 11:08 Comments (0)
HIV is a profoundly social disease, and its causes and consequences are deeply embedded in social, cultural and political processes. With this month’s supplement on “Bridging the social and the biomedical: engaging the social and political sciences in HIV research”, the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) highlights the engagement of the social and political sciences within HIV research and, in particular, ways to maintain a productive relationship between social and biomedical perspectives on HIV.
The issue comprises six articles by leading social scientists, including Barry Adam’s critical analysis of “treatment as prevention”. Kathleen MacQueen reflects on the troubled history of social science in biomedical HIV prevention trials over the last twenty years, while Catherine Montgomery and Robert Pool outline the role of anthropological research within the Microbicides Development Programme 301 trial of the microbicide candidate PRO 2000. Ashley Fox and colleagues offer a new way to assess political commitment in country responses to HIV, followed by Rachel Robinson, who shows that the development of family planning and reproductive health networks in African countries are correlated with HIV outcomes in those countries. Finally, Kathrin Frey and Daniel Kübler reflect on the difficulties of sustaining HIV social science research through an analysis of research funding policies in Switzerland.
We believe the special issue demonstrates the value of fostering high quality social and political research to inform, guide and challenge our collaborative responses to HIV/AIDS. We would like to invite and encourage readers to contemplate the implications of these debates for their and others’ HIV-related research and to engage with the editors and the authors in dialogue on this important and timely issue by using the ‘comment’ option on the JIAS website below each article.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 13:43 Comments (0)
Call for Papers
Special Issue: Community Action to End
Paediatric HIV Infections
Invitation for abstract submission NOW OPEN
Deadline: 2nd September, 2011
This is a call for abstracts proposing research articles for a special issue of the Journal of the International AIDS Society on community actions for ending paediatric AIDS to be published in 2012. The editors invite both conceptual and empirical submissions on models and studies of all four prongs of prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT), that are primarily implemented by communities or community organizations, and that aim to strengthen political, legal, structural, normative, interpersonal and individual capacities to increase the provision, quality and use of services by children and their families, including adherence and retention in programmes (see Proposed Topics below for further details).
Special Issue – Guest Editor:
Linda Richter
Senior Specialist (Health of Vulnerable Children), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Switzerland and Distinguished Research Fellow, Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa
Background
The majority of HIV infections in children are the result of transmission of virus during pregnancy, delivery and breastfeeding. Thus, reduction of infection rates in infants and children is most effectively achieved by prevention of mother- or parent-to-child transmission.
However, despite proven PMTCT strategies that reduce the risk of vertical transmission to less than 1%, the uptake of such interventions remains low. According to latest estimates in the 2010 “Towards Universal Access” report, by end of December 2009 only 53% of pregnant women living with HIV received antiretrovirals to prevent mother-to-child transmission.
There is a growing number of initiatives to address this shortfall, and to accelerate access to and retention in PMTCT programmes and linkages to care for women and their children. The ambitious targets set by the Global Task Team on the Elimination of New HIV Infections among Children and Keeping their Mothers Alive (Countdown to Zero 2011-2015)1 is the greatest commitment to date to address the neglected vulnerability of children.
“Community” – those sectors in which health systems and services are embedded - have a pivotal role to play in helping to achieve the goals of eliminating paediatric infections and improving the health of affected women, children and families.
Partner and family support is crucial for women’s participation in PMTCT programmes. Similarly, women’s adherence and follow-through will be substantially improved if a conducive environment is provided by building supportive social norms and developing policies and legislation that enable implementation of the most effective approaches for all women and children, especially those most marginalized. Community involvement and leadership to improve environmental conditions, to increase demand on more and better quality services and to ensure follow-up is essential for success and universal access to PMTCT and an HIV-free generation.
Submission Process
Initial contributions should be in the form of an abstract in English outlining the main arguments/findings of the proposed paper. If the abstract is based on empirical research, please follow the Journal of the International AIDS Society’s guidelines and structure the abstract using the subtitles Background, Method, Results and Conclusions. Abstracts should be no longer than 350 words. Abstracts should be emailed to supplements@jiasociety.org with the subject line (COMMUNITY ACTION TO END PAEDIATRIC HIV INFECTIONS). The deadline for submission of abstracts is 2nd September, 2011.
The abstracts will be reviewed by the editors and shortlisted for the special issue. The authors of shortlisted abstracts will be invited to prepare full-length papers of up to 3,500 words for submission to Journal of the International AIDS Society. The deadline for submission of completed papers is 9th December, 2011. Only invited articles will be considered, although invitation to submit an article is not a guarantee of publication. All editorial decisions regarding publication in the journal will be based on the outcome of peer review.
Proposed Topics
§ Community advocacy and action in ensuring good quality services, supportive policies and enabling legislation to meet the goals of all four prongs of PMTCT: to reduce infections among men and women of child-bearing age through increased knowledge and preventive actions; to support HIV-affected couples to make safe family planning decisions; to reduce vertical transmission during pregnancy and delivery; to ensure favourable environments for breastfeeding; and to achieve follow-up treatment and care for women, children and their families.
§ The role of communities in: supporting more effective PMTCT program implementation; challenging and addressing barriers arising from local norms especially for marginalized groups; providing information through public media and informal networks to support the elimination of paediatric HIV and AIDS; and monitoring programme implementation and progress.
§ The role played by community organizations and community workers, including community health workers, in: addressing loss to follow-up through strong and effective mechanisms for referral and entry into treatment and care for infants diagnosed with HIV and for their mothers who require treatment after pregnancy; supporting breastfeeding; and providing links to post-natal services for women and children.
§ Family-centred models of PMTCT implementation, including: home-based and couples HIV counselling and testing; the involvement of male partners; mentorship and buddy systems; and the extension of services for other members of the family.
§ Personal factors affecting women accessing and remaining in PMTCT programmes, including financial difficulties, social isolation, domestic violence and depression.
§ Other topics of relevance to the role of community action in the elimination of paediatric HIV and AIDS and to ensuring the health and wellbeing of women, children and families, including: human rights; integration of PMTCT with sexual and reproductive health services for women and preventive and curative services for children; the special difficulties faced by marginalized women and families, including sex workers and drug users; and the role of economic and livelihood support, and social protection as enablers of PMTCT use and effectiveness.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 13:57 Comments (0)
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to the largest population living with HIV. To date numerous obstacles remain that hinder the full implementation of proven strategies for an effective response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in this part of the world. The operational research and implementation sciences aim to provide a sound basis for how to maximize the use of limited resources by investigating the best models to deliver services and implement programmes in various settings and contexts.
With this month’s supplement on ‘HIV/AIDS epidemic in sub-Saharan Africa: facing up to programmatic and operational challenges’ the Journal of the International AIDS Society (JIAS) highlights some of the operational and programmatic challenges that are faced in sub-Saharan Africa for an effective response to the HIV epidemic.
The issue comprises six articles by leading researchers in the field, starting with a study on AIDS-related mortality in Zimbabwe and followed by a contribution on overcoming healthcare worker shortages in Malawi and Ethiopia. In another article the challenges of securing and optimizing supply chain management of antiretrovirals is analyzed. The subsequent article examines available tools for integration of tuberculosis with HIV services and a further article describes the obstacles we face to provide adequate evidence for the concept of treatment as prevention. Finally in a closing commentary with a futuristic perspective a call is made for strengthening operational research capacity and urge for proactive planning to make an impact on the HIV epidemic.
We hope this special issue will give readers an insight into some of the challenges that are associated with the HIV epidemic and a changing environment in sub-Saharan Africa, and become familiar with some applications of operational research and implementation science in HIV healthcare settings. We would like to invite and encourage readers to contemplate the diverse aspects of this area and to engage with the editors and the authors in dialogue on this important and timely issue by using the ‘comment’ option on the JIAS website below each article.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 10:52 Comments (0)
Workshop July 2011: Enhancing Implementation Science: Program Planning, Scale-up, and Evaluation
This workshop is an affiliated event of the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Rome this July. In this two-day workshop, participants will learn how to apply an implementation science framework to improve HIV prevention, treatment and care programs. Drawing faculty from academia, international institutions, and government agencies and a number of disciplines (from epidemiology to social, economic and management sciences), this workshop will give participants the benefit of a variety of perspectives.
Jul 15, 2011—Jul 16, 2011
Location:
Istituto Superiore di Sanità
299 Viale Regina Elena
00161 - Roma
Registration deadline extended to July 8.
For more information, click here.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 11:53 Comments (0)
Highlights from the 1st International HIV Social Science and Humanities Conference
The 1st International HIV Social Science and Humanities Conference – Locating the Social – was held from 11-13th June in Durban, South Africa. The conference was co-chaired by: Mary Crewe from the Centre for the Study of AIDS at Pretoria University, South Africa; Susan Kippax from the Social Policy Research Centre, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and one of the Editors-in-Chief of the Journal of the International AIDS Society; and Marsha Rosengarten from the Centre for the Study of Invention and Social Process, Department of Sociology, Goldsmiths, University of London, United Kingdom. The three co-chairs were supported by a committee of eminent social scientists who are active in HIV-related research. Over 370 delegates, both young and old, from around the world, from a range of social science and humanities disciplines, attended the conference and over 150 delegates presented papers, in oral presentation sessions, pre-organised symposia or panels, or round tables, as well as a number presenting posters. The conference had four plenary speakers: Dr Fred Eboko, a political scientist and Senior Research Fellow at the French Institute of Development, who presented a paper on From Intimacy to Politics; Professor Ezekiel Kalipeni, a professor of Geography and African Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who presented a paper on The Gender Context of Vulnerability to HIV/AIDS; and Dr Vinh-Kim Nguyen, an HIV physician and medical anthropologist at Montreal Jewish Hospital, who presented a paper entitled Locating Theory: HIV, Social change and Anthropology on behalf of himself and Professor Anita Hardon, professor of Health and Social Care at the Faculty of Social and Behavioural Sciences (Sociology / Anthropology Department) and Dean of the Amsterdam School for Social Science Research at the University of Amsterdam. It was an historic occasion on which, for the first time, social science and humanities scholars gathered at an international conference focused on critical, theoretically-informed social science and humanities research on HIV. Participants discussed a range of issues in relation to HIV, including: conceptualising the field; integrating social and biomedical science; social approaches to biomedical prevention; creative approaches to research and intervention; the moral contexts of HIV risk; criminalisation and the law; homophobia and HIV in sub-Saharan Africa; social aspects of social networks and of sexual and drug injection networks; HIV in public and private; gender relations, social structure and HIV; subjectivity and identity; masculinities and HIV; HIV policy and governance; policy and social change; as well as a number of sessions devoted to HIV prevention and to treatment and care. As in all conferences, small numbers of delegates grouped together to plan new research collaborations. The conference had two goals; to provide a venue for social scientists and humanities scholars to share their work across disciplines (which heretofore had not existed) and explore the relationship between social science and biomedicine. Comments from delegates suggest that these goals were met: people spoke of the intellectual challenges of the conference: some said it was “life changing”, others agreed that it was “energising”, some others that it “provided a safe space where we can talk to each other”, while one other that it was “a rewarding and stimulating event... I am so glad I travelled so far to listen to so many compelling presentations”, and so on. It had a great feel and generated many ideas and much discussion. We look forward to the second such conference in 2013. For more information on the conference visit http://www.iaohss.org/.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 15:52 Comments (0)
The workshop will present definitions of operational research and implementation science and provide an overview of critical concepts in the sound research design and methodology for conducting operational research. An overview of the process of engaging in operational research and implementation science will be provided including how to identify a good research question, composition of a research team, research design and methodology (including qualitative methods), and dissemination of research results. Operational research and implementation science from the perspective of policy makers will be explicitly explored. The workshop will be interactive with short lectures interspersed with case studies, discussion around questions, and small group work.
Tuesday, 19 July, 11h00 – 14h00
IAS 2011 Conference venue, Mini Room 2
(Open to all conference delegates on a first-come, first-served basis – seating limit: 70)
For more information: http://pag.ias2011.org/session.aspx?s=67
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 08:13 Comments (0)
Scientific writing workshops at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention
The Journal of the International AIDS Society Editorial Team is pleased to announce that in a continuous effort to offer training and guidance to authors, this year JIAS will again be organizing skills building workshops at the 6th IAS Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention on scientific writing and publishing. More information is provided below.
Professional Development Workshop “Publish or Perish” Scientific Writing Workshop Monday, 18 July, 11h00 – 14h00 IAS2011 Conference venue, Mini Room 1 (Open to all conference delegates on a first-come, first-served basis) This interactive workshop provides an overview of the scientific writing process and an introduction to the publishing process for less experienced authors. The writing section will cover key components of a scientific manuscript and it will also highlight some of the resources available for authors. The publishing section will describe the publication and the peer-review process, and also address ethical issues in scientific writing. A panel of editors will give an insight into the workings of an editorial office and discuss the most common reasons for rejection of manuscripts. The aim is to make the editorial decision-making process transparent and provide practical information on how to navigate the publication process by avoiding common pitfalls.
Focus Workshop “Survival Guide to Publishing” Sunday, 17 July, 15h30 – 17h00 IAS2011 Conference venue, IAS Secretariat, Yellow Room (IAS members by application only) IAS members are invited to register for a space at this interactive focus workshop on scientific publishing, limited to 10 participants by emailing editorial@jiasociety.org. An intense and participant-driven session will take an in-depth look at how to submit and publish research manuscripts. We will explore the editorial side of reviewing manuscripts and decision making. Participants are encouraged to bring their own material for open discussions.
Focus Workshop “Scientific Writing Up Close” Tuesday, 19 July, 12h30 – 14h00 IAS2011 Conference venue, IAS Secretariat, Yellow Room (IAS members by application only) IAS members are invited to register for a space at this interactive focus workshop on scientific writing, limited to 10 participants by emailing editorial@jiasociety.org. An intense and participant-driven session will take an in-depth look at how to write a research manuscript, in particular how to write a thoughtful introduction and an engaging discussion. Participants are encouraged to bring their own material for open discussions.
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 09:15 Comments (0)
The epidemic 30 years on: AIDS and stigma
When HIV first began to spread in the 1980s, its early association with the gay community strongly induced stigma and discrimination. After 30 years, stigma remains a major obstacle to efficient HIV testing, treatment, prevention and care efforts. Erving Goffman defined stigma as “the process by which the reaction of others spoils normal identity” [1].
People living with HIV/AIDS have been stigmatised and discriminated against since the epidemic began. In
In high income and western countries, newly published research documenting how people living with HIV in the
In South Asia, a study of health care providers in
For initiatives and programmes to dispel stigma, see:
HIV/AIDS ANTI-STIGMA INITIATIVE: http://www.hivaidsstigma.org/
Fight AIDS - Not People With AIDS! http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/aids.html
AVERT - AVERTing HIV and AIDS International HIV and AIDS charity HIV & AIDS stigma and discrimination http://www.avert.org/hiv-aids-stigma.htm
In the news: Reuters Special Report: An End to AIDS?
References:
1. Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stigma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_stigma
2. HIV/AIDS STIGMA: THE LATEST DIRTY SECRET Jo Stein CSSR Working Paper No. 46 October 2003
http://www.heart-intl.net/HEART/010105/HIVAIDSStigmaTh.pdf
3. IPPF International Planned Parenthood Federation HIV stigma and discrimination remain a significant challenge in the UK London 30 November 2009
4. HIV/AIDS-Related Stigma and Discrimination: A Study of Health Care Providers in
http://jia.sagepub.com/content/10/2/97.short?rss=1&ssource=mfr
5. YAHAnet Youth, the Arts, HIV & AIDS Network
http://www.yahanet.org/guides/facts/stigma
Posted by Mirjam Eckert at 13:24 Comments (0)