Team PATA

EXPERT PATIENT PROGRAMME UPDATE

50 teams are participating in PATA's Expert Patient Programme fulfilling a variety of different roles. The impact of this programme will be presented at the XVII World Aids Conference in Mexico City from the 3 - 8 August 2008 in a paper titled "Task shifting in paediatric ARV clinics through employment of 'expert patients".

Background to the Expert Patient Programme

In June 2007, 20 clinics expressed an interest in participating in a pilot programme in which Expert Patients would be employed by PATA to work within their clinics to alleviate the stress of the clinical team by carrying out certain duties. The idea was launched to PATA teams at the 2006 Nairobi conference, but it was not a new one: the Rwandan accompagnateur programme among others had already been shown to be very successful. PATA undertook to fund expert patients within clinics to the amount of US$ 200 per month. The idea was to fill needs in clinics and as a way to engage and empower people living with HIV/AIDS to contribute to their community's health. Expert Patients - while not necessarily working full-time - should be considered official and important members of care teams and should receive a monthly stipend appropriate to the nature of their work, hours of work, and the local economy.
74 Expert Patients were employed by PATA through the clinic network from June 2007 onwards. They fulfilled roles in the categories of creating child-friendly clinics, administration, triaging, community, counselling, nutrition and patient advocacy. Participating clinics committed to reporting back on their progress at 4 month intervals.
At present, 33 PATA teams are employing 136 expert patients. This second phase of the programme includes the new categories of treatment buddies, clinical assistants (phlebotomy and HIV screening), communication (interpreting) and pharmacy assistants to the list of roles already mentioned.

It costs $200 per month to fund expert patients in a clinic. If you would like to contribute to this programme, please email info@teampata.org