There's always room for some excitement. If the Miami airport wasn't enough between having to walk the entire concourse 3 times until I finally found the right gate, and having to go through 4 checkpoints (the security began to recognize by the last time through)...I finally boarded the plane to Antigua...only to find out that it would land around 11PM and then there would be no place to stay.
Well...that wasn't a problem...REALLY...as once arrived at the Antigua airport, we stood in the immigration line for almost 1 1/2 hours, and then again in customs for an additional hour. All tolled, I only had to sleep in a chair in the ticketing area untail 4AM when I was able to again get in line and get a ticket to come back to Grenada. Was I happy to feel the wheels hit the ground at Point Saline? You can be sure of it! But it was worth it...the people, the discussion, the experience of sharing academic information. What a feeling!
I would be terribly ungrateful if I did not take this public opportunity to thank everyone who supported me in any way, especially to my daughter who puts up with me and gives me excellent advise, my supervisor Peter and chair, Dr.H., and of course the administrative Dean Dr.P who approves all our work, and his able staff who coordinate our travels. I could never have accomplished it without you!
Monday, August 4, 2008
Hasta LaVista Conference Day 3
Well...It was absolutely Marvelous! A wonderful experience, alot of excellent people, a wealth of knowledge acquired! And...a chance to present information which hopefully be viewed as innovative in prevention and effectual in disease education.
All that said, I am off to the airport and will be traveling through Miami on my way back to Grenada. Thanks for the memories!!!
All that said, I am off to the airport and will be traveling through Miami on my way back to Grenada. Thanks for the memories!!!
Poster Session Conference Day 3
Now thanks to the administratoin and staff who supported me at St. George's University, I was able to present the poster which the International AIDS Conference approved and now has listed on their CD files from the program, and also will be given to all conference participants for further reviewing.
The poster was possible through my work with the Prison Peer Educator Project, "Project START- A Peer Education Program on HIV Outreach, Prevention and Stigma Reduction", and was funded by the National AIDS Directorate through a grant written for such, and approved by the Ministry of Health. The project spanned over 6 months and included training inmates and staff about HIV and STI's, and provided them also with group facilitation skills workshops so that they would then be able to present the material to their peers. The prison administration initially identified 8 inmates, but expanded it to 21 (both male and female) who graduate the progtram.
The outcomes of the program included but not limited to:
1- increased respect by individual inmate and fellow inmates
2- education of at least 50% of the prison populatoin (actualize 97.3%)
3- acquisition of voluntary HIV testing of prison inmates of at least 20% (actualized 95%) with weekly availability for further testing of inmates, guards and new intakes
4- coordination with community agencies upon discharge of inmates for continuance of skills with community HIV educatoin programs
The complete evaluation of the project is available through the NAD office with surveys, statistics, etc. It has been viewed as such great success through the associated factions of NAD and UNGASS, that now it is being distributed to other Caribbean countries for use as demonstration projects in their penal systems as a prevention strategy for disease management.
(Note the notification for the abstract:
AIDS 2008 - Your abstract number [A-072-0167-01226]
AIDS 2008 Abstract Team
ViewWednesday, June 25, 2008 10:00:21 AM
To:docepocrates@yahoo.com
Dear Dr. Marianne SzauerArritt, AIDS 2008 is approaching and we are hereby sending you the final abstract number for your abstract accepted for publication: Abstract title: Project START: prison peer education program on HIV outreach, prevention and stigma reductionAbstract number: CDC0576.
We would also like to remind you of the conference embargo policy:An abstract cannot be submitted if it has been previously published or presented, unless there are major updates in the data. If preliminary or partial data has been published, the author is required to indicate the details of the conference, meeting or journal. The content of an abstract is under embargo from the time of submission until notification of acceptance.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or need further information.
Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Durand, Chair
AIDS 2008 Abstract Team)
The poster was possible through my work with the Prison Peer Educator Project, "Project START- A Peer Education Program on HIV Outreach, Prevention and Stigma Reduction", and was funded by the National AIDS Directorate through a grant written for such, and approved by the Ministry of Health. The project spanned over 6 months and included training inmates and staff about HIV and STI's, and provided them also with group facilitation skills workshops so that they would then be able to present the material to their peers. The prison administration initially identified 8 inmates, but expanded it to 21 (both male and female) who graduate the progtram.
The outcomes of the program included but not limited to:
1- increased respect by individual inmate and fellow inmates
2- education of at least 50% of the prison populatoin (actualize 97.3%)
3- acquisition of voluntary HIV testing of prison inmates of at least 20% (actualized 95%) with weekly availability for further testing of inmates, guards and new intakes
4- coordination with community agencies upon discharge of inmates for continuance of skills with community HIV educatoin programs
The complete evaluation of the project is available through the NAD office with surveys, statistics, etc. It has been viewed as such great success through the associated factions of NAD and UNGASS, that now it is being distributed to other Caribbean countries for use as demonstration projects in their penal systems as a prevention strategy for disease management.
(Note the notification for the abstract:
AIDS 2008 - Your abstract number [A-072-0167-01226]
AIDS 2008 Abstract Team
ViewWednesday, June 25, 2008 10:00:21 AM
To:docepocrates@yahoo.com
Dear Dr. Marianne SzauerArritt, AIDS 2008 is approaching and we are hereby sending you the final abstract number for your abstract accepted for publication: Abstract title: Project START: prison peer education program on HIV outreach, prevention and stigma reductionAbstract number: CDC0576.
We would also like to remind you of the conference embargo policy:An abstract cannot be submitted if it has been previously published or presented, unless there are major updates in the data. If preliminary or partial data has been published, the author is required to indicate the details of the conference, meeting or journal. The content of an abstract is under embargo from the time of submission until notification of acceptance.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions or need further information.
Yours sincerely,
Nicholas Durand, Chair
AIDS 2008 Abstract Team)
Conference Session Day 3
Buenos Dias...even though I don't speak Spanish...it actually comes fairly easily as Mexicans speak more closely actual Spanish. And so day 3, I only have the morning here and must also present my poster.
The first session related new material on the viral evolution in acute disease (AHI).Fro this we gleaned the relationships between the linkage and characterization of transmitted virus during acute infection. We then continued the discussion to transmission of HIV-1 Gag but not Nef immune escape mechanisms as associated with reduced viral loads in those with HIV infection, and the relationship and differences between those identified resistance mutations in acute and latent viral infections. This session finished off with a hearty discussion about relatoin of viral fitness and HIV transmission and features of HIV-1 subtype C virus and the idea of compartmentalism in male secretions as increasing the virulence of the virus transmission.
Interestingly we also had a chance to review all the findings on the modified CD38 peptide inhibiting HIV attachment through the involvement of a lysine (K57) residue and its' potential as an active microbicide based on the above discussion of increased male viral virulence in semen.
The first session related new material on the viral evolution in acute disease (AHI).Fro this we gleaned the relationships between the linkage and characterization of transmitted virus during acute infection. We then continued the discussion to transmission of HIV-1 Gag but not Nef immune escape mechanisms as associated with reduced viral loads in those with HIV infection, and the relationship and differences between those identified resistance mutations in acute and latent viral infections. This session finished off with a hearty discussion about relatoin of viral fitness and HIV transmission and features of HIV-1 subtype C virus and the idea of compartmentalism in male secretions as increasing the virulence of the virus transmission.
Interestingly we also had a chance to review all the findings on the modified CD38 peptide inhibiting HIV attachment through the involvement of a lysine (K57) residue and its' potential as an active microbicide based on the above discussion of increased male viral virulence in semen.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)