Glossary
Behavioural surveillance
Surveys of behaviour that puts people at risk of HIV transmission. This involves asking a sample of people about their sexual attitudes, drug injecting and other risk behaviours. The sample may be restricted to a certain age group, and to men or women.
Best Practice
Best practice is understood as the continuous process of learning, feedback, reflection and analysis of what works and does not work in the HIV/AIDS response and why. Drawing on practical experiences from countries around the world and within the country itself, effective approaches, policies, strategies and technologies are identified as "best practice."
ELISA
Acronym for Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay. It is a type of Enzyme Immunoassay (EIA) to detect the presence of HIV antibodies in the blood or saliva.
Epidemic
A disease that spreads rapidly through a demographic segment of the human population in a geographic area. Epidemics can be spread from person to person or from a contaminated source such as food or water.
Epidemiology
The branch of medical science that deals with the study of incidence, distribution and control of a disease in a population.
Gender and Sex
The term 'sex' refers to biologically determined differences, whereas the term 'gender' refers to differences in social roles and relations between men and women. Gender roles are learned through socialization and vary widely within and between cultures. Gender roles are also affected by age, class, race, ethnicity and religion, as well as by geographical, economic and political environments.
Guiding Principles
Guiding Principles are the cultural, moral and ethical values that form the basis of the National Strategic Plan, including the principles embodied in the National Constitution.
High-risk groups/Groups with high-risk behavior.
These terms should be used with caution as they can increase stigma and discrimination. They may also lull people who don't identify with such groups into a false sense of security. 'High-risk group' also implies that the risk is contained within the group whereas, in fact, all social groups are interrelated. It is often more accurate to refer directly to 'sex without a condom', unprotected sex', 'needle-sharing', or 'sharing injecting equipment', rather than to generalize by saying 'high-risk group'.
HIV
Human Immuno-deficiency Virus is the virus that weakens the immune system, ultimately leading to AIDS
HIV Infection
Entry of HIV into the body and infects susceptible immune cells. This leads to massive reproduction of the virus leading to the progressive destruction of the immune system.
HIV Incidence
HIV incidence (sometimes referred to as cumulative incidence) is the proportion of people who have become newly infected with HIV during a specified period of time. UNAIDS normally refers to the number of people (of all ages) or children (0-14) who have become infected during the past year.
HIV Prevalence
Cumulative HIV infections within a given period and is usually given as a percentage
Multisectoral Response
A multisectoral response is a concerted effort by all concerned agencies, organizations and key stakeholders (such as politicians, Non-governmental organizations, churches, private sector organizations, union groups, donor agencies, vulnerable groups, PLWHAs and other stakeholders), in the fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Opportunistic Infections (OI)
Infections that invade the body when the immune system is weakened by the HIV Virus such TB, pneumonia and cancers like Kaposis Sarcoma.
Orphans
Children/child without parental support. When used in the context of HIV/AIDS, it relates to children whose parents have died of AIDS.
Palliative Care
Palliative care combines active and compassionate therapies to comfort and support patients and their families who are living with life-threatening illness. Palliative care strives to meet physical needs through pain relief and maintaining quality of life while emphasizing the patient's and family's rights to participate in informed discussion and to make choices. This patient- and family-centered approach uses the skills of interdisciplinary team members to provide a comprehensive continuum of care including spiritual and emotional needs.
Pandemic
A disease prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world.
Peer Education
Providing factual/vital information to people of a certain age, same sex, has the same interest, of the same organisation or social group, status or position on matters governing their existence. Peer education can motivate peers to achieve behavior change which has to be generated from within the individuals and the whole group.
People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA)
Makes reference to people who are infected with HIV. However, in general terms it also refers to people affected by HIV/AIDS like spouses, children and close relatives.
Prophylaxis
Preventive therapy given to at-risk individuals to prevent a first infection such as OI, post-exposure prophylaxis such as needle stick injury and rape.
Sentinel Sero-Surveillance
Monitoring system through blood testing to track HIV infection levels in certain populations through certain institutions because they provide access to populations that are either of particular interest in the epidemic or representative of a larger population. For example, antenatal and STI clinics
Sentinel Surveillance
This form of surveillance relates to a particular group (such as men who have sex with men) or activity (such as sex work) that acts as an indicator of the presence of a disease.
Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI)
Also called venereal disease (VD), an older public health term, or sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Sexually Transmitted Infections are spread by the transfer of organisms from person to person during sexual contact.
Sex Worker
The term 'sex worker' is non-judgemental and recognizes the fact that people sell their bodies as a means of survival, or to earn a living. This term is preferable to 'prostitute', 'whore' and 'commercial sex worker', which have negative connotations.
Surveillance
The ongoing and systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data about a disease or health condition. Collecting blood samples for the purpose of surveillance is called serosurveillance.
Syndrome
A group of signs and symptoms that together are characteristic of a specific condition.
Targeted Interventions
Appropriate strategies, program activities or course of actions aimed to reduce or prevent the spread of HIV amongst certain population groups identified to be at risk.
Youth
Young people cover both adolescents (10-24). In PNG context, young unmarried adults up to 35 years also fall in this category, which make up more than 50% of population.