Project Description National Alliance of State and Territorial AIDS Directors (NASTAD)
Duration: April 2007 - March 2009
Partners: National AIDS Control Organization (NACO), Public Health Management Institute (PHMI), Andhra Pradesh State AIDS Control Society (APSACS)
Geographic Focus: Andhra Pradesh
Project Profile: NASTAD is a membership organization of U.S. State Health Department AIDS Program Directors. A NASTAD goal is to bring the members' significant public health management and international HIV/AIDS field experience to support public health and HIV/AIDS institutions in the US and other countries.
NASTAD started working with CDC GAP India in 2001 to build the capacity of public health professionals to lead and manage comprehensive HIV programs. NASTAD provided support to CDC GAP India, PHMI and APSACS in the development and implementation of the Public Health Field Leader Fellowship (PHFLF) to train mid-career professionals to assume leadership roles in the management of HIV programs at the state and district levels. The fellowship is an innovative on-the-job training program managed by PHMI that combines six weeks of group contact sessions with distance learning modules and field mentorship.
NASTAD provided support to this project by: 1) providing technical advice to CDC GAP India and PHMI on the structure and format of the PHFLF; 2) identifying existing public health management training activities and curricula that have been shown to be effective in the field; 3) developing the content of specific PHFLF training modules where existing curricula did not exist; 4) delivering training to PHFLF fellows and/or providing on-site constructive critical assessment and feedback on training; 5) assisting in the design and implementation of methods to monitor and evaluate the PHFLF.
Project Achievements and Innovations:
- Provided input on the design of a progressive and comprehensive public health curriculum focusing on management of HIV programs in the field
- Designed and delivered distance learning components of the PHFLF
- Provided on-site mentorship and technical assistance for PHFLF fellows
- Designed the evaluation framework for the PHFLF
- Assisted in the documentation for the PHFLF
- Adapted PHFLF modules for training of District AIDS Prevention and Control Unit (DAPCU) staff in Andhra Pradesh