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StPetersburgNewHaven

St. Petersburg, Russia / New Haven, Connecticut

2004-Present


Focus: Evidence Based Practice, HIV/AIDS, Health Services Administration, Occupational Health, Drug Addiction and Control



The Partners

US Partner: Yale University School of Medicine will serve as the lead US institution. The partnership consortium includes the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS (CIRA), Yale AIDS Care Program, Yale-New Haven Hospital, Nathan Smith Clinic, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health, as well as Hispanos Unidos and other area community- and faith-based groups.

NIS Partner: The St. Petersburg City AIDS Control Center will be the lead partner institution; the St. Petersburg Health Committee, the Botkin Clinical Hospital, and the Russian Federal Center will also collaborate.

 




Partnership Objectives

The overall goal of the partnership is to create replicable and integrated models of care and treatment for persons living with HIV/AIDS by establishing systems and processes to address human and organizational capacity needs related to providing high-quality HIV/AIDS care and treatment services. Specific objectives are now in development.

Objectives:

Objective #1: To increase knowledge and skills of physicians and nurses from the Krasnogvardeisky District and the municipal AIDS Center.

Objective #2: To improve comfort level among health care professionals in providing care to patients with HIV/AIDS.

Objective #3: To increase the involvement of PLWHA in the provision of HIV/AIDS care, treatment and support.

Objective #4: To improve communications & information systems related to HIV/AIDS patients among health institutions in KG district and between KG district and the city aids center.




Achievements

  • A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the lead partner institutions was signed on July 5, 2004 as part of the opening ceremony for the AIDS Information Center established by AIHA at the St. Petersburg City AIDS Control Center.
  • St. Petersburg and Krasnogvardeiskii district partners participated in exchange visits to New Haven. The partners received training on methods of treating IDUs and visited methadone clinics, rode with the Community Health Care Van, and observed Narcotics Anonymous meetings. Education on nursing involvement in HIV care, ART regimens, and treatment of Hepatitis C and HIV co-infection was provided; TB and HIV co-infection, care and case management of HIV-positive IDUs, and research activities in an HIV/AIDS clinic setting have also been covered.
  • New Haven partners participated in exchange visits to St. Petersburg. The US partners shadowed the Russian physicians to assess the quality and process of care provided to HIV+ patients and training needs of Russian AIDS care providers. The US partners conducted focus groups for care providers to assess the current attitudes towards HIV+ patients and injection drug users and the perceived risk of occupational exposure.
  • The partners developed a training curriculum for physicians and nurses on HIV/AIDS care and treatment and support, substance abuse and addiction medicine, HIV and Hepatitis C co-infection, and the prevention of occupational exposure and post-exposure prophylaxis. The training will occur in November 2005.
  • The partners created a brochure entitled “Information for You and the People You Know,” which provides general HIV/AIDS information regarding transmission, protection, diagnosis, anonymous testing, and local contact information for HIV/AIDS services. In addition, a booklet entitled “My Health, My Rights, and My Opportunities” was created for PLWHA. It provides more in-depth information on where to receive treatment, medications and possible side effects, the importance of adherence, characteristics of HIV progression, and AIDS and social services available to PLWHA and their family/ friends.
  • HIV/AIDS information “stands” were placed in four locations throughout KG District; each provides current information related to HIV/AIDS and offers community members the ability to communicate anonymously with healthcare providers through a “question box”; answers are then posted to the public.
  • Ongoing monthly meetings between infectious disease specialists in KG District and the AIDS Center were established. Data reviewed during these meetings indicated that approximately 38.9% of the persons with newly detected HIV in KG District went to the AIDS Center for confirmatory testing.
  • Fifteen Russian health care professionals participated in an intensive three day seminar consisting of lectures, group exercises, and problem-solving projects. Specific objectives included defining the global pattern of HIV and elements specific to Russia, caring for patients with HIV/AIDS, strategies to reduce the rick of occupational exposure, and TB diagnosis and management.
  • Five St. Petersburg partners (a medical psychologist, an infection disease specialist, a social worker and two PLWHA) took part in the introductory case management training held in Saratov in August. One of the potential case managers is a volunteer who is willing to take a leadership role in developing a self-support group for HIV-positive persons.

 

 

Participating Institutions

 


Contact Information for St. Petersburg, Russia / New Haven, Connecticut

NIS Partner

Information Coordinator
Tsirdava, Irina
Psychologist
St. Petersburg City AIDS Control Center
nab. Obvodnogo kanala, 179 A
St. Petersburg, Russia 190103
Email:  ircspb@sp.ru
Fax:  812 - 2510853

US Partners

US Partnership Representative
Dr. Wagner, Krystn
Assistant Professor
Yale University School of Medicine
135 College St.
Suite 323
New Haven, CT United States 06510
Email:  krystn.wagner@yale.edu
Phone:  (1-203) 688-2685

US Partnership Representative
Heimer, Robert
Associate Professor
Department of Epidemiology & Public Health
Yale University School of Medicine
135 College St.
Suite 323
New Haven, CT United States 06510
Email:  robert.heimer@yale.edu
Phone:  (1-203) 785-6732

US Partnership Coordinator
Ladouceur, Robin
Office of International Training
Yale University School of Medicine
135 College St.
Suite 323
New Haven, CT United States 06510
Email:  robin.ladouceur@yale.edu
Phone:  (203) 764-8417

 

 

Related Events

HIV/AIDS Strategic Planning Conference
St. Petersburg, Russia
January 26, 2005 - January 28, 2005
AIHA and the University Research Co. (URC) will conduct a strategic planning conference in St. Petersburg, Russia for current partnerships involved in HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in the Russian Federation. As a follow-up to the partnerships’ first exchanges this conference will provide the opportunity for the partners to share their individual assessment findings, the URC system analysis findings, and coordinate planning and strategy with the Russian Ministry of Health, WHO, UNAIDS, USAID and other organizations working on HIV/AIDS Care and Treatment in Russia.

LRC Workshop for HIV/AIDS Information Resource Centers
St. Petersburg, Russia
October 25, 2004 - October 29, 2004
AIHA ICT Programs staff provided training and orientation for representatives from new AIHA partnership HIV/AIDS Information Resource Centers (IRCs) in Russia. During the workshop, IRC Information Coordinators and Health Resources Specialists participated in two separate training tracks—one on IRC management and operations, the second on the principles of evidence-based practice. All participants received an overall introduction and orientation on the IRC project workplan, objectives, and planning.



Updated on November 28, 2006