Overcoming barriers to measuring HIV among IDUs

Rapid Situation and Response Assessment

Dr Samiran Panda

(Overcoming barriers to scaling up HIV prevention among IDUs- overcoming stigma, gendr and socio-economic barriers)

What’s there in a name……

• Rapid anthropological procedures

• Rapid assessment

• Rapid appraisals

• SRA

• RSA

• RAR

• RSRA

Fields where Rapid Assessments have been applied: a few

examples

• Malaria

• Diarrhea

• Water sanitation

• Nutrition

• HIV prevention

• HIV awareness and education

• Illicit drug use & drug injecting

Individual health &

health behaviors

The overall scheme of RSRA

Collection of secondary data

Observation at drug using sites and building rapport with the drug users

Information about new sites obtained and observation conducted at new sites

Key informant interviews conducted (some pre-decided and some known through fieldwork)

FGDs conducted with drug users, relatives / friends, youth club members etc

One-on-one interviews conducted with drug users selected from each of the identified sites

Qualitative and quantitative data analysis Synthesis of all the information (primary and secondary data)

How Rapid is Rapid?

3 weeks to 3 months

Assessment-intervention cycle

RSRA

Intervention development

Implementation of intervention

ReassessmentModification of intervention

Re-examination of situation and responses

Further modification of intervention

Crucial considerations for RSRA in the field of drug use

• Involvement of those who would support the endeavor and those who would make use of the findings right from the beginning

• Involvement of drug users at every step of RSRA

• Ensuring organizational and political commitment for developing interventions from RSRA findings

• Mapping of resources during RSRA that could be tapped subsequently during implementation of intervention

• Minimizing the delay between Assessment and dissemination of findings and dissemination of findings and launching of intervention

Rapid Situation and Response Assessment

Can be used as an important public health tool provided we do it well following all the rules of the game

Thank you