THE EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE SYSTEM - FINDINGS FROM THE PROVIDER SURVEY, VOLUME II: FINAL REPORT

Findings of the first comprehensive government study of the Emergency Food Assistance System (EFAS) suggest that public and private food assistance may work in tandem to provide more comprehensive food assistance than either could provide by itself. Five major types of organizations (emergency kitchens, food pantries, food banks, food rescue organizations, and emergency food organizations) operate in the EFAS. About 5,300 emergency kitchens provide more than 173 million meals a year, and 32,700 food pantries distribute about 2.9 billion pounds of food a year, which translates into roughly 2,200 million meals. Despite substantial amounts of food distributed by the system, the EFAS remains much smaller in scale than the Federal programs. This study, which was sponsored by USDAs Economic Research Service, provides detailed information about the systems operations and about each of the five types of organizations. This report presents the study results in detail. For a summary of the results, see The Emergency Food Assistance SystemFindings from the Provider Survey, Volume I: Executive Summary at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/fanrr16-1. For more information on the survey methodology, see The Emergency Food Assistance SystemFindings from the Provider Survey, Volume III: Survey Methodology at http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/efan01008.Food pantry, emergency kitchen, food bank, food rescue organization, emergency food organization, TEFAP, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty,

THE EMERGENCY FOOD ASSISTANCE SYSTEM - FINDINGS FROM THE CLIENT SURVEY; EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

During a typical month in 2001, food pantries served about 12.5 million people, and emergency kitchens served about 1.1 million people. Food pantries and emergency kitchens play an important role in feeding America's low-income and needy populations. These organizations are part of the Emergency Food Assistance System (EFAS), a network run largely by private organizations with some Federal support. This report presents findings from a national study of EFAS clients, which surveyed clients who received emergency food assistance from selected food pantries and emergency kitchens. The study finds that food pantries and emergency kitchens serve a diverse clientele, but that almost three-fourths of those served are food insecure. The majority of EFAS households receive Federal food assistance, including two-thirds of food pantry clients and 45 percent of emergency kitchen clients. However, a substantial number of EFAS households do not receive food stamps, though they appear to be eligible for them.Emergency food, food pantry, soup kitchen, community kitchen, emergency kitchen, food bank, emergency food organization, hunger, food insecurity, food security, food assistance, faith-based organization, Food Security and Poverty,

Predictive validity of the UK clinical aptitude test in the final years of medical school:a prospective cohort study

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"Men are always scared to test with their partners … it is like taking them to the Police": Motivations for and barriers to couples' HIV counselling and testing in Rakai, Uganda: a qualitative study.

INTRODUCTION: Uptake of couples' HIV counselling and testing (couples' HCT) can positively influence sexual risk behaviours and improve linkage to HIV care among HIV-positive couples. However, less than 30% of married couples have ever tested for HIV together with their partners. We explored the motivations for and barriers to couples' HCT among married couples in Rakai, Uganda. METHODS: This was a qualitative study conducted among married individuals and selected key informants between August and October 2013. Married individuals were categorized by prior HCT status as: 1) both partners never tested; 2) only one or both partners ever tested separately; and 3) both partners ever tested together. Data were collected on the motivations for and barriers to couples' HCT, decision-making processes from tested couples and suggestions for improving couples' HCT uptake. Eighteen focus group discussions with married individuals, nine key informant interviews with selected key informants and six in-depth interviews with married individuals that had ever tested together were conducted. All interviews were audio-recorded, translated and transcribed verbatim and analyzed using Nvivo (version 9), following a thematic framework approach. RESULTS: Motivations for couples' HCT included the need to know each other's HIV status, to get a treatment companion or seek HIV treatment together - if one or both partners were HIV-positive - and to reduce mistrust between partners. Barriers to couples' HCT included fears of the negative consequences associated with couples' HCT (e.g. fear of marital dissolution), mistrust between partners and conflicting work schedules. Couples' HCT was negotiated through a process that started off with one of the partners testing alone initially and then convincing the other partner to test together. Suggestions for improving couples' HCT uptake included the need for couple- and male-partner-specific sensitization, and the use of testimonies from tested couples. CONCLUSIONS: Couples' HCT is largely driven by individual and relationship-based factors while fear of the negative consequences associated with couples' HCT appears to be the main barrier to couples' HCT uptake in this setting. Interventions to increase the uptake of couples' HCT should build on the motivations for couples' HCT while dealing with the negative consequences associated with couples' HCT

Plasma viral loads during early HIV-1 infection are similar in subtype C- and non-subtype C-infected African seroconverters.

Recent data suggest that infection with human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) subtype C results in prolonged high-level viremia (>5 log10 copies/mL) during early infection. We examined the relationship between HIV-1 subtype and plasma viremia among 153 African seroconverters. Mean setpoint viral loads were similar for C and non-C subtypes: 4.36 vs 4.42 log10 copies/mL (P = .61). The proportion of subtype C-infected participants with viral loads >5 log10 copies/mL was not greater than the proportion for those with non-C infection. Our data do not support the hypothesis that higher early viral load accounts for the rapid spread of HIV-1 subtype C in southern Africa

Characteristics of HIV-1 Discordant Couples Enrolled in a Trial of HSV-2 Suppression to Reduce HIV-1 Transmission: The Partners Study

Background: The Partners HSV-2/HIV-1 Transmission Study (Partners Study) is a phase III, placebo-controlled trial of daily acyclovir for genital herpes (HSV-2) suppression among HIV-1/HSV-2 co-infected persons to reduce HIV-1 transmission to their HIV-1 susceptible partners, which requires recruitment of HIV-1 serodiscordant heterosexual couples. We describe the baseline characteristics of this cohort. Methods: HIV-1 serodiscordant heterosexual couples, in which the HIV-1 infected partner was HSV-2 seropositive, had a CD4 count ≥250 cells/mcL and was not on antiretroviral therapy, were enrolled at 14 sites in East and Southern Africa. Demographic, behavioral, clinical and laboratory characteristics were assessed. Results: Of the 3408 HIV-1 serodiscordant couples enrolled, 67% of the HIV-1 infected partners were women. Couples had cohabitated for a median of 5 years (range 2–9) with 28% reporting unprotected sex in the month prior to enrollment. Among HIV-1 susceptible participants, 86% of women and 59% of men were HSV-2 seropositive. Other laboratory-diagnosed sexually transmitted infections were uncommon (500 relative to <350, respectively, p<0.001). Conclusions: The Partners Study successfully enrolled a cohort of 3408 heterosexual HIV-1 serodiscordant couples in Africa at high risk for HIV-1 transmission. Follow-up of this cohort will evaluate the efficacy of acyclovir for HSV-2 suppression in preventing HIV-1 transmission and provide insights into biological and behavioral factors determining heterosexual HIV-1 transmission. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT0019451

Insights, Discoveries, Surprises : Drawing from the Model

Based on a series of regular four-hour drawing sessions undertaken over a period of four years, this book puts together two Canadian painters' reflexions on the creative process and pedagogical concepts, thus unveiling a fine approach to learning to draw from the human model. 13 bibl. ref