Health Services
For service providers, policy makers, advocates, and organizations planning on providing or currently providing testing, treatment, and care for adolescents living with HIV, this section provides job aids, quality of care standards, and training tools. Planners and service providers working with adolescents living with HIV will find here resources to help them take into account:
- The unique needs of adolescents in accessing confidential and rights-based treatment and care;
- Standards for providing comprehensive, integrated, and high quality HIV and sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents;
- Guidance and job aids for providers to help with HIV disclosure, partner notification and network/index testing; and
- Tools related to the transition of care for children and adolescents living with HIV into adult health systems.
Globally, adolescents living with HIV face a dual barrier to health services, namely the compounded marginalization and discrimination that come from both their age and HIV status. Adolescents living with HIV are particularly vulnerable to stigma, discrimination, and violence, including from health providers who may reflect and recreate their own social biases. This toolkit includes resources on both rights-based, youth-friendly health services for all adolescents and specific guidance and training for health providers and stakeholders responsible for ensuring the availability of quality services for adolescents living with HIV.
Each linked resource page contains a description of the tool available with links to either the tool online or a downloadable copy. Where resources are available in multiple languages, we have provided links.
For those interested in holistic support for adolescents living with HIV outside the service center setting, we recommend exploring the resources on the Mental and Emotional Health and Positive Living pages of this toolkit, accessible above.
Comprehensive Care and Treatment for Adolescents living with HIV
Adolescent HIV Care and Treatment: A Training Curriculum for Health Workers
ICAP, 2012
A full training package including 16 individual modules with both facilitator and participant guides and powerpoint slides. This resource also includes a link to a country-specific training curriculum, including facilitator and participant manuals, for Zambia.
Adolescent HIV Testing, Counselling and Care
WHO, 2014
An interactive online resource for health providers and planners that offers guidance on reaching adolescents and providing targeted, appealing, and effective care.
Developing and Strengthening Care and Support Services for Adolescents Living with HIV
UNICEF, 2016
A handbook for health practitioners and guidance for policy makers to manage service protocols for adolescents living with HIV.
HIV and Adolescents: Guidance for HIV Testing and Counselling and Care for Adolescents Living with HIV
WHO, 2013
Recommendations for policy-makers and program managers on a public health approach for adolescents living with HIV.
Integrated Management of Adolescent and Adult Illness (IMAI) Sharespace
WHO
Online repository for clinical tools and standards related to care and treatment of adolescents and adults living with HIV. Requires registration.
More Positive Living
WHO, 2008
Recommendations on a health-sector response and best practices for providing care for adolescents living with HIV.
One-Day Orientation on Adolescents Living with HIV
WHO, 2010
Facilitator and participant guides and handouts for conducting a one-day orientation for health providers on the care and treatment of adolescents living with HIV.
Package of Care for People Living with HIV
ICAP, 2012
Summary of evidence and list of core interventions to guide service planners and program implementers.
Ready to Talk Series
Frontline AIDS, 2019
A series of three documents collecting individual stories and voices of adolescents and young people living with HIV sharing their experiences with disclosure, treatment adherence, and accessing youth-friendly sexual and reproductive health services. Available in English, French, and Portuguese from Frontline AIDS.
Recent Interventions to Improve Retention in HIV Care and Adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment Among Adolescents and Youth: A Systematic Review
AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 2019
This systematic review article provides an evidence update by synthesizing empirical evaluations of interventions designed to improve antiretroviral therapy adherence and retention among adolescents and youth living with HIV.
Young People Living with HIV: A Collection and Review of the Resources for Health Workers Around the World
Pathfinder, 2015
A compendium of free online resources available for implementers to improve services available to adolescents and young people living with HIV.
Integrated Adolescent-Friendly Services
Adolescent Job Aid: A Handy Desk Reference Tool for Primary Health Workers
WHO, 2010
A desk reference for health workers who provide services to adolescents that aims to help effectively respond to adolescents with greater sensitivity.
Gender-Based Violence Quality Assurance Tool
JHPIEGO, CDC, and WHO, 2018
Implementation guidance and job aid for health providers and facility managers to assure minimum standards of high-quality post-violence care. Includes standard tool, minimum care tool, and facilitation guidance for planners. Available in English and French from JHPIEGO.
Global Standards for Quality Health Care Services for Adolescents
WHO, 2015
A four-volume set of references for policy makers and health program managers including standards, an implementation guide, and tools for monitoring and evaluation of health services. Available in English, French, and Spanish from WHO.
Orientation Programme on Adolescent Health for Health Care Providers
WHO, 2006
Facilitator guides and participants handouts for adolescent-friendly health services. Available in English, French, and Russian from WHO.
Standards for Improving the Quality of Care for Children and Young Adolescents in Health Facilities
WHO, 2018
Rights-based quality of care standards for pediatric and adolescent health services.
Building Futures: Supporting Youth Living with HIV Technical Assistance Toolkit
US Health Resources and Services Administration HIV/AIDS Bureau, 2018
Technical assistance toolkit for health clinic managers and providers planning holistic support for adolescents and young people living with HIV.
Counselling and Disclosure of HIV Status
Disclosure of HIV Status Toolkit for Pediatric and Adolescent Populations
Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, 2018
A reference tool and job aid for service providers and other care workers serving pediatric and adolescent populations living with HIV. Available in English, French, and Portuguese from Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation.
Guideline on HIV Disclosure Counselling for Children up to 12 Years of Age
WHO, 2011
Guidance for health workers on supporting children and their caregivers on disclosure of HIV status in the context of comprehensive care.
Index Testing and Partner Notification for Adolescent Girls and Young Women
YouthPower Learning, 2019
A desk reference tool and service scripts for health providers for integrated violence screening, partner notification, and index testing services with adolescent girls and young women.
Transition of Care
Toolkit for Transition of Care and Other Services for Adolescents Living with HIV AIDSTAR-One, 2014
Resources including a training manual and handbook for providers focused on transitioning adolescents living with HIV to adult care.
Types of Resources Key:
Training Tools: Facilitator and participant manuals and training activities designed to provide training in relevant topics for multiple audiences.
Handbooks/Job Aids: Guidance and tools for use “on-the-job” by health providers, peer educators, advocates, or other implementers. These tools are generally succinct and task-specific.
Global Standards: Minimum standards, best practices, and aspirational statements of core principles for the health and rights of adolescents living with HIV.
Implementation Guides: Programming principles and guidelines for developing services, outreach, or advocacy with and for adolescents living with HIV.
Curricula/Educational Tools: Educational guides, curricula documents, activities, and handbooks for conducting comprehensive sexuality education, peer education, or outreach.
Research/Best Practices: Case studies, systemic reviews, analysis of evidence, and recommendations for advancing the learning agenda on adolescents living with HIV.