St. Lucia Caribbean Region HIV and AIDS Service Provision Assessment Survey 2005

Author(s): MEASURE Evaluation, AID Inc., St. George's University

Year: 2007

Abstract:

The 2005 Saint Lucia HIV/AIDS Service Provision Assessment (HSPA) survey report provides baseline information for decisionmaking on how and where to scale up or strengthen HIV and AIDS-related services. Focusing on the formal public health sector in St. Lucia, the HSPA findings provide information on both basic- and advanced-level HIV and AIDS services and the availability of recordkeeping systems for monitoring HIV and AIDS care and support. Within the Caribbean region, there is a concern for the recent training of health professionals who provide HIV and AIDS services, for health worker attitudes towards people living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIV) and for patient movement within the region. The St. Lucia HSPA captured information on these region-specific indicators in addition to the standard HSPA indicators. Since HIV and AIDS services are not offered across all facilities or facility types, and these services are relatively few, the sample is disproportionately representative of known sites for HIV and AIDS services. Although the emphasis of the HSPA is on public facilities, if private or non-government facilities are important providers of HIV and AIDS services, they were also included. The survey was conducted in a sample of 17 facilities (12 public facilities) in Saint Lucia, including hospitals, polyclinics, health centers, specialized clinics and laboratories. Therefore any interpretation of the findings should be limited to the sample and to the capacity to scale up existing HIV and AIDS services. The HIV and AIDS–related services that were assessed include counseling and testing capability, care and support services (CSS), antiretroviral therapy (ART), post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), prevention of motherto- child transmission (PMTCT) and youth-friendly services.