Table 4 Characteristics of various nurse trainings available as standard of care in all ART and primary care sites compared with training offered at intervention clinics during STRETCH intervention

Description

Two- week training course comprising one week of lectures and one week of practical training

One- to two-hour sessions weekly or fortnightly of case scenario-based interactive training in use of PALSA PLUS guidelines (six to eight sessions in total)

One- to two-hour sessions weekly or fortnightly of case scenario-based interactive training in use of PALSA PLUS STRETCH guidelines (four sessions in total)

Trainers

Senior doctors, pharmacists dieticians and social workers working in ART programme

Middle level nurse managers trained as PALSA PLUS trainers

Middle level nurse managers trained as PALSA PLUS and STRETCH trainers

Trainees

Doctors, professional nurses enrolled nurses pharmacists and social workers involved in providing primary care services at hospitals and clinics across the province

Professional and enrolled nurses and ancillary staff at all intervention and control clinics and primary care clinics throughout the province.

All professional nurses (whether appointed to ART or primary care posts) at 16 intervention sites only

Setting

Local classrooms located throughout the province to which lectures are broadcast.

Local ART sites during practical training

Training sessions held at the clinic

Training sessions held at the clinic

Mode of delivery

Lectures broadcast live from central studio with limited telephone interaction.

Face-to-face with staff at ART sites during practical training

Face-to-face small group facilitative work

Face-to-face small group facilitative work

Intensity and duration

Full day training for one week of lectures and one week of practical training

One to two hours once every week or two weeks for two to three months

One to two hours once every week for four weeks