The training was developed and conducted by specialists of RRC Resource Center Technical Support Group on HIV and TB questions in the framework of RRC Khabarovsk regional branch project “Additional service in realization events on prevention of HIV-infection and hepatitis B and C in the framework of campaign on awareness and educating different population groups about means and methods of HIV-infection and hepatitis B and C prevention in 2014-2015”.

Today the Khabarovsk Territory is one of the relatively favorable territories in the RF regarding the spread of HIV-infection. However RRC Khabarovsk regional branch finds that in this situation exactly HIV prevention becomes of particular importance. The main focus of staff-members and RRC volunteers is to preserve the health of the youth in the region.

At the end of last year RRC Khabarovsk regional branch together with other commercial and non-commercial organizations of the region  participated in the contest conducted by the AIDS prevention and control Center of the Khabarovsk Territory and successfully won the right to deliver public service realizing events on HIV-infection and hepatitis B and C prevention in the Khabarovsk Territory as it has offered the most appropriate conditions, human and volunteer resources of the branch as well as experience in the sphere. The preventional events will be financed from the State budget that is in total 1,5 million rubles. Training for peer instructors became one of the first steps of these events realization.

RRC staff-members and volunteers from Khabarovsk, Birobidzhan, Komsomolsk on Amur participated in the training and expressed their willingness to use “peer-to-peer” approach in preventional and educational programs and events of the Khabarovsk Territory. The future peer instructors as well as organizers of preventional activity took part in the training. It was the cause of a big diversity in the age of participants – from 15 to 53. However it only made the training more effective: senior staff-members assisted volunteers in presenting their trainer’s skills and junior volunteers performed creativity and energy.

To conduct the training RRC Recourse Center used a unique methodological package that was developed earlier which include training protocol, participants work book, selection of educational handout materials and electronic presentations on each of the projects topics. All the methodological materials are available at the electronic resource of RRC Resource Center Technical Support Group: 

http://www.redcross-irkutsk.org/ru/pages/Gruppa_tehnicheskoj_podder/

Gruppa_tehnicheskoj_podder_inf_metod/Modul_III_Metodicheskij_p.html.

The program of peer instructors training on HIV prevention consists of four basic blocks:

• The main information on HIV-infection, including the information on the ways of its transmission, myths about HIV, stigma and discrimination, HIV-infection prevention and necessary information on the topics above mentioned that peer instructors will present to the youth audience at informational sessions;
• Communicational and training skills including work with difficult audience, communication with the group, characteristics of a good peer instructor, methods and means of training, characteristics of target groups, etc.;
• Organization of informational sessions including planning, hosting, coordinating and other organizational questions;
• Training’s participants’ individual presentations on the topics of preventional informational session for the youth (to train practical instructor’s skills and perform the knowledge learnt).

The first two days had a focus on actualizing the information on HIV the participants already had and obtaining the new one. This part of the training is usually difficult for participants as it contains a lot of new theoretical information. But participants of this group learnt the general information well and demonstrated it in the test and during individual presentations.

The training took place in a very friendly atmosphere. The training group worked together creatively and with interest.

The analyze of the final assessment questionnaires demonstrated that all the participants highly estimated the training in general and the majority stated that almost all the information acquired was helpful and interesting. The participants are fully satisfied with the information acquired and the quality of handout materials. Participants’ expectations from the training were met. According to participants the duration of the training corresponds to its content, the balance between theory and practice is maintained, the volume of the information acquired is sufficient. Participants of the training also expressed their full satisfaction with the trainer’s work and the logistic organization of the training.

It should be noted that despite of the good theoretical knowledge not all the participants felt themselves confident acting as trainers/instructors by the end of the training: the majority assessed their ability to conduct trainings and informational sessions individually by 4 and 3 points (out of 5 available). However all the participants expressed their big desire to work as instructors/trainers of preventional programs and announced that they understand the necessity to continue their trainings and practice of training work.

Let us wish them success! They have a long and thorny way to go but the aim is noble. There is a lot of enthusiasm and knowledge acquired. So it means they will succeed!

RRC Resource Center from its side announces that it is always there for those who want to become more confident in their knowledge, who want to learn the great experience of others and share their own  successful practices.