Contents

1. Acknowledgements
2. Introduction
   1. About Bettercare
   2. Why decentralised learning?
   3. Free Bettercare Online Learning Platform
   4. Learning programmes
   5. Format of the courses
   6. Contributors
   7. Updating the course material
   8. Contact information
   9. Registration
3. 1 HIV infection
   1. Introduction to HIV infection
   2. The spread of HIV
   3. Screening for HIV infection
   4. Clinical presentation of HIV infection if treatment has not been started
   5. Clinical stages of HIV infection
   6. Common complications of HIV infection
   7. WHO staging system for HIV infection in adults and adolescents (for reference)
4. 2 Managing people with HIV infection
   1. Objectives
   2. General management
   3. The role of the community
   4. Counselling
   5. Monitoring immune function
   6. Palliative and terminal care
   7. Case studies
5. 3 Preparation for antiretroviral treatment
   1. Objectives
   2. Indication for antiretroviral treatment
   3. Referral for anti­retroviral treatment
   4. Problems with starting antiretroviral treatment
   5. Preparing for anti­retroviral treatment
   6. Screening visits
   7. Case studies
6. 4 Antiretroviral drugs
   1. Objectives
   2. Introduction to anti­retroviral treatment
   3. Classes of antiretroviral drugs
   4. Standardised regimens for antiretroviral treatment
   5. Antiretroviral medication
   6. Side effects of antiretroviral drugs
   7. Case studies
7. 5 Management of patients on antiretroviral treatment
   1. Objectives
   2. tarting antiretroviral treatment
   3. Follow-up visits
   4. Monitoring the response to anti­retroviral treatment
   5. Problems with anti­retroviral treatment
   6. Adherence
   7. Drug resistance
   8. Treatment failure
   9. Drug interactions
   10. Drug interruptions
   11. Side effects of antiretroviral agents
   12. Immune Reconstitution Inflammatory Syndrome (IRIS)
   13. Quality of life
   14. Expense
   15. Case studies
8. 6 HIV-associated infections
   1. Objectives
   2. Common HIV-associated infections
   3. Pneumocystis pneumonia
   4. Infections of the central nervous system
   5. Tuberculosis co-infection
   6. Case studies
9. 6a Skills: Screening tests for HIV
   1. Equipment needed to perform an HIV rapid test
   2. The method of performing the HIV rapid test
   3. Reading the results of the HIV rapid test
   4. The interpretation of the HIV rapid test
   5. Management if the HIV rapid test is positive
   6. Management if the first HIV rapid test is positive but the second is negative