Volume 28, Supplement—December 2022
SUPPLEMENT ISSUE
Workforce
Use of Project ECHO in Response to COVID-19 in Countries Supported by US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief
Table 1
Characteristics of projects Incorporating COVID-19 topics in HIV/TB Project ECHO programs*
Project ECHO characteristics | Coordinating organizations | COVID-19 topics covered during ECHO sessions | Main COVID-19 topics |
---|---|---|---|
South Sudan HIV ECHO: first session Mar 11, 2020, and occurred weekly; range 219–322 participants. |
ICAP South Sudan, College of Physicians and Surgeons of South Sudan, Juba Teaching Hospital (Central Equatoria State) |
1) Introduction to COVID-19; 2) protecting frontline healthcare workers to ensure continuity of services; 3) case management 1: mild/moderate and severe cases; 4) case management 2: critical cases and special populations; 5) infection prevention and control; 6) patient screening, triage, isolation, and contact tracing; 7) rational use of PPE; 8) cleaning and waste/dead body management |
1) Case management 1: mild/ moderate and severe cases; 2) case management 2: critical cases and special populations; 3) infection prevention and control |
Namibia ECHO: first session Mar 17, 2020, and occurred weekly; range 172–390 participants |
Namibia Ministry of Health and Social Services |
1) COVID-19 and patients on ART; 2) HIV patient management in the COVID-19 context; 3) overview of infection prevention and control measures in COVID-19 pandemic; 4) national update on COVID-19 developments; 5) pediatric HIV disclosure in the context of COVID-19; 6) how to prepare ART clinics for COVID-19 |
1) Case management 1: basics of COVID-19, management of mild/moderate and severe cases 2) case management 2: advanced management of critical cases and special populations; 3) infection prevention and control; 4) Introduction and planning for IPC: WHO Tabletop Exercise |
Zambia Project ECHO TB/HIV: first session Jan 29, 2020, and occurred weekly with ad hoc sessions; range 64–65 participants |
Zambia Ministry of Health |
1) Clinical update on the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV); 2) COVID-19 orientation for HCWs; 3) COVID-19 pandemic response; 4) COVID-19 in children; 5) PPE donning and doffing; 6) clinical features of COVID-19; 7) COVID-19 pandemic literature review; 8) psychological aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic; 9) COVID-19 management – experiences from China and Italy; 10) COVID-19 and management of noncommunicable diseases and comorbidities; 11) ensuring quality HIV services during COVID-19 pandemic; 12) COVID-19 in Zambia: “What We Should Know”; 13) TB/TPT guidance during the COVID-19 pandemic; 14) COVID-19 vaccine |
1) Sustaining quality HIV services amidst COVID-19; 2) clinical features of COVID-19; 3) COVID-19 vaccination |
Kyrgyzstan HIV ECHO Project: first session Sep 23, 2016, and occurred biweekly and weekly; range 30–60 participants. |
Kyrgyz State Medical Institute for Postgraduate Education |
Introduction to COVID-19 |
1) Outpatient COVID-19 management; 2) COVID-19 diagnosis, clinical features, and management; 3) etiology, clinical features; 4) diagnostics and treatment |
Central America HIV Treatment ECHO: first session Oct 9, 2020, and occurred weekly; range 31–87 participants. | SE-COMISCA El Salvador | COVID-19 and HIV co-infection | COVID-19 and HIV co-infection |
*ART, antiretroviral therapy; ECHO, Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes; IPC, infection prevention and control; PPE, personal protective equipment; SE-COMISCA, Secretaría Ejecutiva del Consejo de Ministros de Salud de Centroamérica y República Dominicana; TB, tuberculosis; TPT, tuberculosis preventive treatment; WHO, World Health Organization.