262 research outputs found

    Frazee\u27s Christian Churches of the Eastern Mediterranean

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    Treatment of HIV/AIDS at South Africa's largest employers: myth and reality

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    This repository item contains a single issue of the Health and Development Discussion Papers, an informal working paper series that began publishing in 2002 by the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development. It is intended to help the Center and individual authors to disseminate work that is being prepared for journal publication or that is not appropriate for journal publication but might still have value to readers.BACKGROUND: In the past three years, many large employers in South Africa have announced publicly their intention of making antiretroviral treatment (ART) available to employees. Reports of the scope and success of these programs have been mostly anecdotal. This study surveyed the largest private sector employers in South Africa to determine the proportion of employees with access to ART through employer-sponsored HIV/AIDS treatment programs. METHODS: All 64 private sector and parastatal employers in South Africa with more than 6,000 employees were identified and contacted. Those that agreed to participate were interviewed by telephone using a structured questionnaire. RESULTS: 52 companies agreed to participate. Among these companies, 63% of employees had access to employer-sponsored care and treatment for HIV/AIDS. Access varied widely by sector, however. Approximately 27% of suspected HIV-positive employees were enrolled in HIV/AIDS disease management programs, or 4.4% of the workforce overall. Fewer than 4,000 employees in the entire sample were receiving antiretroviral therapy. In-house (employer) disease management programs and independent disease management programs achieved higher uptake of services than did medical aid schemes. CONCLUSIONS: Publicity by large employers about their treatment programs should be interpreted cautiously. While there is a high level of access to treatment, uptake of services is low and only a small fraction of employees medically eligible for antiretroviral therapy are receiving it

    Treatment of HIV/AIDS at South Africa's Largest Employers: Myth and Reality

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    Background: In the past three years, many large employers in South Africa have announced publicly their intention of making antiretroviral treatment (ART) available to employees. Reports of the scope and success of these programs have been mostly anecdotal. This study surveyed the largest private sector employers in South Africa to determine the proportion of employees with access to ART through employer-sponsored HIV/AIDS treatment programs. Methods: All 64 private sector and parastatal employers in South Africa with more than 6,000 employees were identified and contacted. Those that agreed to participate were interviewed by telephone using a structured questionnaire. Results: 52 companies agreed to participate. Among these companies, 63% of employees had access to employer-sponsored care and treatment for HIV/AIDS. Access varied widely by sector, however. Approximately 27% of suspected HIV-positive employees were enrolled in HIV/AIDS disease management programs, or 4.4% of the workforce overall. Fewer than 4,000 employees in the entire sample were receiving antiretroviral therapy. In-house (employer) disease management programs and independent disease management programs achieved higher uptake of services than did medical aid schemes. Conclusions: Publicity by large employers about their treatment programs should be interpreted cautiously. While there is a high level of access to treatment, uptake of services is low and only a small fraction of employees medically eligible for antiretroviral therapy are receiving it

    Treatment of HIV/AIDS at South Africa's Largest Employers: Myth and Reality

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    Background: In the past three years, many large employers in South Africa have announced publicly their intention of making antiretroviral treatment (ART) available to employees. Reports of the scope and success of these programs have been mostly anecdotal. This study surveyed the largest private sector employers in South Africa to determine the proportion of employees with access to ART through employer-sponsored HIV/AIDS treatment programs. Methods: All 64 private sector and parastatal employers in South Africa with more than 6,000 employees were identified and contacted. Those that agreed to participate were interviewed by telephone using a structured questionnaire. Results: 52 companies agreed to participate. Among these companies, 63% of employees had access to employer-sponsored care and treatment for HIV/AIDS. Access varied widely by sector, however. Approximately 27% of suspected HIV-positive employees were enrolled in HIV/AIDS disease management programs, or 4.4% of the workforce overall. Fewer than 4,000 employees in the entire sample were receiving antiretroviral therapy. In-house (employer) disease management programs and independent disease management programs achieved higher uptake of services than did medical aid schemes. Conclusions: Publicity by large employers about their treatment programs should be interpreted cautiously. While there is a high level of access to treatment, uptake of services is low and only a small fraction of employees medically eligible for antiretroviral therapy are receiving it

    The private sector and HIV/AIDS in Africa: taking stock of six years of applied research

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    This repository item contains a single issue of the Health and Development Discussion Papers, an informal working paper series that began publishing in 2002 by the Boston University Center for Global Health and Development. It is intended to help the Center and individual authors to disseminate work that is being prepared for journal publication or that is not appropriate for journal publication but might still have value to readers.BACKGROUND: Until recently, little was known about the costs of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to businesses in Africa and business responses to the epidemic. This paper synthesizes the results of a set of studies conducted between 1999 and 2006 and draws conclusions about the role of the private sector in Africa’s response to AIDS. METHODS: Detailed human resource, financial, and medical data were collected from 14 large private and parastatal companies in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Ethiopia. Surveys of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were conducted in South Africa, Kenya, and Zambia. Large companies’ responses or potential responses to the epidemic were investigated in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Rwanda. RESULTS: Among the large companies, estimated workforce HIV prevalence ranged from 5%- 37%. The average cost per employee lost to AIDS varied from 0.5-5.6 times the average annual compensation of the employee affected. Labor cost increases as a result of AIDS were estimated at anywhere from 0.6%-10.8% but exceeded 3% at only 2 of 14 companies. Treatment of eligible employees with ART at a cost of $360/patient/year was shown to have positive financial returns for most but not all companies. Uptake of employer-provided testing and treatment services varied widely. Among SMEs, HIV prevalence in the workforce was estimated at 10%-26%. SME managers consistently reported low AIDS related employee attrition, little concern about the impacts of AIDS on their companies, and relatively little interest in taking action, and fewer than half had ever discussed AIDS with their senior staff. AIDS was estimated to increase the average operating costs of small tourism companies in Zambia by less than 1%; labor cost increases in other sectors were probably smaller. CONCLUSIONS: Although there was wide variation among the firms studied, clear patterns emerged that will permit some prediction of impacts and responses in the future

    High resolution inelastic electron scattering from lead-208

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    Inclusive electron scattering differential cross sections from \sp{208}Pb have been measured with energy resolutions better than 20 keV for over 120 discrete states with excitation energies less than 7.3 MeV. The momentum-transfer dependence of these cross sections has been mapped over a range of 0.5 to 2.8 fm\sp{-1} in the forward direction and 1.0 to 2.9 fm\sp{-1} in the backward scattering direction. Over fifty excitations have been analyzed in the Distorted Wave Born Approximation to yield transition charge, current and magnetization densities. The nuclear structure of discrete excitations are interpreted in the framework of 1p-1h transition. The nuclear structure of levels in the excitation region below 4.8 MeV is studied in detail. Above 4.8 MeV, multiplets from single particle-hole configurations coupling to high spin states (J≥7)(J \geq 7) are investigated. Experimental transition densities are compared to Tamm-Dancoff calculations from a correlated ground state

    The Private Sector and HIV/AIDS in Africa: Taking Stock of Six Years of Applied Research

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    Background: Until recently, little was known about the costs of the HIV/AIDS epidemic to businesses in Africa and business responses to the epidemic. This paper synthesizes the results of a set of studies conducted between 1999 and 2006 and draws conclusions about the role of the private sector in Africa’s response to AIDS. Methods: Detailed human resource, financial, and medical data were collected from 14 large private and parastatal companies in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Ethiopia. Surveys of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) were conducted in South Africa, Kenya, and Zambia. Large companies’ responses or potential responses to the epidemic were investigated in South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Zambia, and Rwanda. Results: Among the large companies, estimated workforce HIV prevalence ranged from 5%¬37%. The average cost per employee lost to AIDS varied from 0.5-5.6 times the average annual compensation of the employee affected. Labor cost increases as a result of AIDS were estimated at anywhere from 0.6%-10.8% but exceeded 3% at only 2 of 14 companies. Treatment of eligible employees with ART at a cost of $360/patient/year was shown to have positive financial returns for most but not all companies. Uptake of employer-provided testing and treatment services varied widely. Among SMEs, HIV prevalence in the workforce was estimated at 10%-26%. SME managers consistently reported low AIDS-related employee attrition, little concern about the impacts of AIDS on their companies, and relatively little interest in taking action, and fewer than half had ever discussed AIDS with their senior staff. AIDS was estimated to increase the average operating costs of small tourism companies in Zambia by less than 1%; labor cost increases in other sectors were probably smaller. Conclusions: Although there was wide variation among the firms studied, clear patterns emerged that will permit some prediction of impacts and responses in the future

    Treatment for HIV / AIDS at South Africa's largest employers: myth and reality

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    Objectives: To determine what proportion of employees at the largest private-sector companies in South Africa have access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment, including antiretroviral therapy (ART); how many employees are enrolled in disease management programmes; how many are receiving ART; and which approach to the financing and delivery of care is proving most successful at reaching eligible employees.Design.: All 64 private-sector and parastatal companies with more than 6 000 employees in South Africa were identified and contacted. Those that agreed to participate were interviewed by telephone using a structured questionnaire.Results.: Fifty-two companies agreed to participate. Among these companies, 63% of employees had access to employersponsored care and treatment for HIV/AIDS. However, access varied widely by sector. Approximately 27% of suspected HIV-positive employees were enrolled in disease management programmes, or 4.4% of the workforce overall. Fewer than 4 000 employees in the entire sample were receiving ART. In-house (employer) disease management programmes and independent disease management programmes achieved higher uptake of services than did medical aid schemes.Conclusions.: Publicity by large employers about their treatment programmes should be interpreted cautiously. While there is a high level of access to treatment, uptake of services is low and only a small fraction of employees medically eligible for ART are receiving it. South African Medical Journal Vol. 96(2) 2006: 128-13

    Treatment for HIV/AIDS at South Africa's largest employers: myth and reality

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    A New Baseline for Diadema antillarum, Echinometra viridis, E. lucunter, and Eucidaris tribuloides Populations Within the Cayos Cochinos MPA, Honduras

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    We investigated the density of 4 urchin species from 5 shallow reefs in the Cayos Cochinos Marine Protected Area in Honduras. Individual species density varied among reefs with total urchin density ranging from 3.2–7.9 individuals/m2. Echinometra viridis (Agassiz, 1863) was the numerically dominant species (2.29/m2) followed by E. lucunter (Linnaeus, 1758) (1.76/m2) with Eucidaris tribuloides (Lamarck 1816) representing the fewest individuals (0.42/m2). Our results indicated that density of Diadema antillarum (Philippi, 1845) differed significantly among reefs (0.4-1.3/m2, mean = 0.63/m2), but are three times greater than data collected 12 years after the mass mortality event of the 1980’s. Size frequency analysis of D. antillarum indicated that test diameter also differed significantly among reef sites while correlation analysis showed that D. antillarum density was negatively related to both coral and algal cover. Echinometra viridis density, however, was positively related to coral cover (p \u3c 0.05). When all urchins were combined, they showed a negative correlation with algal cover and a positive correlation with coral cover indicating a potential top-down effect within the reefs. While urchin densities remain relatively low compared to other sites in the Caribbean, the D. antillarum population appears to be recovering in this Honduran MPA. If overall grazer abundance continues to increase then they may limit macroalgae on reefs, thereby encouraging coral settlement
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