All you need to know about managing HIV in Australia
HIV Management in Australasia is a ‘living resource’ for health practitioners managing people with HIV infection in Australia and neighbouring countries. It provides information on the basic principles of preventing, diagnosing and managing HIV-associated disease. Readers should consult expert texts and/or specialist medical practitioners to obtain more detailed information about HIV disease pathogenesis or the diagnosis and management of HIV-associated disease.
This on-line clinical guide is a flagship resource of the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM). It is used as a resource for many of the ASHM training and accreditation courses, including the HIV Prescriber Course and supports a number of on-line and face-to-face training modules. It is also freely available as an everyday resource for clinicians managing patients with HIV or learning about HIV management.
The ASHM HIV Management in Australia website is a reformatting of the ‘Green Monograph’ and the on-line version of that publication, which have served Australian health practitioners so well over many years. Australia has always had a very dedicated, knowledgeable and productive HIV Medicine workforce and it is important that the knowledge and expertise is made available to those entering the workforce in the future.
The primary aim of the new website is to assist in the education, training and day-to-day practice of health practitioners involved in assessing and managing people with HIV infection in Australia and neighbouring countries. Given the changing face of HIV Medicine over the last decade, the content of the new website has been revised and updated to put more of a focus on primary health care and non-specialist hospital care. It is intended for it to be a ‘living resource’ with regular updates of content, if needed. Ownership by, and feedback from, Australian healthcare practitioners delivering services to people with HIV infection is expected and encouraged.
I am extremely grateful to the many contributors who have voluntarily given their time to provide content for the website.
Martyn French, honorary editor, 5/11/2019
Emeritus Professor, UWA Medical School and School of Biomedical Sciences
In 2016, the nursing section of ASHM’s HIV Management in Australia was published for the first time on-line as part of the 'Green Monograph’. In this current edition, HIV, sexual health and public health nurses from around Australia present a nursing perspective on caring for people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in the Australian context.
In line with the aim of the new website, each section provides a brief overview of a topic, with cross-references to the other nursing and/or medical sections of the monograph where relevant. This section is unique in its focus on nursing, and nurses' and midwives' roles in caring for people with HIV from diverse backgrounds and with a range of HIV-related conditions and complications, as well as in HIV education, prevention and health promotion. Nursing ethics, cultural safety and the importance of professional supervision for clinicians working in this challenging field are discussed.
This resource will be useful for nurses working in the HIV, sexual health and blood-borne virus sector, for those working in other areas of nursing who may simply wish to access a particular section, and for nursing students. We include links to clinical resources and to nursing organisations. As this is a living resource, feedback from the sector and regular revision is both expected and encouraged.
I would like to express my tremendous thanks to the nursing authors who volunteered their time and expertise to contribute to this section of the website
Liz Crock, honorary editor 20/11/2019
HIV Clinical Nurse Consultant, Nurse Practitioner, Bolton Clarke HIV Program, Melbourne