March 31, 2008. CCNMTL staff accompanied Dr. Robert Remien, research scientist at the HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, on a fact-finding mission to Cape Town, South Africa as part of an NIMH-supported project on HIV-treatment adherence known as SMART +SA. The team examined cultural issues and practices around patient care in a variety of clinical settings while focusing on the viability of enhancing existing protocols with multimedia. The highlights of the trip were the meaningful, in-depth conversations with counselors, nurses and patients, all of whom demonstrated extraordinary commitment, patience and perseverance in the face of limited resources, the legacy of a troubled history, and continued stigma and other cultural and political barriers. The project staff has initiated work, informed by the visit, on tools and online activities for adherence counselors to use in one-on-one conversations with their patients.

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Learn more on the SMART +SA project

Project press release, December 2007