Control and Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections Program Offered at University of Nairobi

The challenges of the HIV/AIDS epidemic have caught public health officials and medical professionals unprepared. There is an acute shortage of health care providers trained in the prevention, control and management of sexually transmitted infections (STI), including HIV/AIDS.

AIDS patients require comprehensive care across a continuum.This includes clinical and nursing care, counselling and social support from hospital to home. The doctor and other clinicians are a vital link in this continuum.

Effective counselling for example, leads to strong doctor-patient relationship, and makes all the difference in how patients accept their HIV status, how they lead their lives and approach sexual and other relationships. Furthermore, few patient can afford expensive anti retro-viral drugs, yet it is a fact that many opportunistic infections can be treated adequately with standard drugs and thus prolong life in an affordable manner. In addition, AIDS control requires positive health promotion, and knowledge of medico-legal and issues.

All these factors and more are important in good AIDS and STI management and form the basis for this unique Postgraduate Diploma now offered to doctors and other clinicians for the first time in Africa.

The Postgraduate Diploma in The Control and Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections by distance learning offered by the University of Nairobi brings graduating doctors and other clinicians specialized knowledge and skills they need in order to handle the increasing number of sexually transmitted infection (STI) and HIV/AIDS patients in their daily medical practice.

Without sacrificing time away from their busy clinics, this Postgraduate course enables doctors and other clinicians to gain up-to-date knowledge and skills in an area of growing public health importance; manage all aspects of sexually transmitted infection;specialize in HIV/AIDS management and control; study at a place of their own choice, time and pace within two years; and apply newly-acquired skills immediately to help patients with problems, even as they go through the course.

Applicants to the Postgraduate Diploma in the Management and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections by Distance Learning at the University of Nairobi must hold at least a first degree in a clinical area from the University of Nairobi or any institution recognized by the Senate of the University of Nairobi as being of comparable academic status.

Holders of the following degrees shall be eligible for admission

I)Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBCHB.)

II)Bachelor of Dental Surgery(BDS)

III)Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN)

Applicants must be currently working as health care providers in either the private, non-governmental or public health sectors.

Course Structure and Duration

The Postgraduate Diploma in the Management and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections by Distance Learning at the University of Nairobi shall be covered in four semester over a period of 24 months. Each module is covered in one semester and has at least six units. Candidates are expected to complete approximately one study unit a month.

All study materials needed for the Postgraduate Diploma in the Management and Control of Sexually Transmitted Infections by Distance Learning at the University of Nairobi are provided to all registered students. These materials form a valuable reference library which will be useful in clinical practice both during and after the course.

Induction semester will be held at the Department of Medicine Microbiology of the University of Nairobi's Kenyatta National Hospital Campus. This will include an introduction to the course, and issuance of the first semester materials. Thereafter face-to-face sessions will be scheduled for lectures at the department.

Course Outline

Module 1

Sexually transmitted infections(STI).

Public health importance of STI, Approach to a Patient with suspected STI, Common Classic STI Presentations, Genital Discharges, Genital Ulcer Diseases, Mother to Child Transmission of STI, Advanced Issues in STI.

Module 2

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS)

Biology and Natural History of HIV/AIDS, HIV/AIDS and Opportunistic Infections, Micro-bacterial Diseases and HIV/AIDS, Non Infection Complications of HIV/AIDS, HIV and Paediatric AIDS, Continuum of Care in HIV/AIDS.

Module 3

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) and health Promotion

Human Sexuality, Health Behaviours, STI and Society, Communication and Advocacy, Counselling, STI and Medic-legal Issues.

Module 4

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) Control and Prevention

Control of STI, Condoms and Other Barrier Methods, STI, Nosocomial Infections and Infection Control, STD and Safe Blood Transfusion, Surveillance and Research, Managing the Health Facility.

The University of Nairobi is a world-class university committed to scholarly excellence. University of Nairobi mission is to provide quality university education and training and to embody the aspirations of the Kenyan people and the global community through creation, preservation, integration, transmission and utilization of knowledge.

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