An effective Australian-Chinese peer education program on HIV/AIDS/STDs for university students in China

IntroductionCurrently, there are at least 850,000 people living with human immuno-deficiency virus (HIV) and acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) in China. Among them 16-29 years old account for about 65%. According to the Chinese health authorities, if the preventive measures are not effective, the figure could reach as many as 10 million by the year 2010[1]. Since there are currently no cure or vaccines for HIV/AIDS, changing people's high-risk behaviors is the main approach that is taken to slow down the epidemic. This can be done through effective HIV/AIDS education, especially for young people. In 1997, a 4-year adolescent HIV/AIDS peer education program was introduced to in Beijing and Shanghai, which was based on a successful Australian model developed by Professor Roger Short, in which senior medical students were trained and used as peer educators to teach their junior peers about HIV/AIDS[2].……

Peer support improving the life quality of colostomy patients with colorectal cancer

Psychosocial barriers for people with an enterostomy remain a huge challenge for the health system.Recent research findings have shown that peer support has a significant effect on the psychological support of patients undergoing permanent enterostomies.This paper explores the current state of research on peer support for patients with an intestinal stoma through a literature review approach to provide scientific evidence for researchers,clinicians,and policy makers in this field.The findings suggest that the innovative use of peer support in psychological interventions for colorectal cancer stoma patients can provide them with knowledge skills,resource information,emotional support,and assessment support,which can help to facilitate the adaptation of stoma patients to their role,improve their ability to manage their stoma and ensure their physical and psychological well-being.

The perspective of peer educators: What are their experiences, feelings, and thoughts?

Introduction: Although peer education is accepted as one of the most effective methods for sexual and reproductive health education, the feelings, thoughts and self-affection of peer educators are not very well known. Our aim is to investigate what it is like to be a peer educator. Methods: This phenomenological study was conducted in Izmir as a part of “Modern Stork Legends” project supported by the European Union. Two focus group interviews were made with 18 peer educators of the project. Data were analyzed with NVivo 8 BS software. Results: All of the students stated that they participate in the project “to enhance their knowledge” and “to inform their social circle”. They are concerned about the tasks and expectations, and anxious about the subject of counseling. They think that anything related with sexuality is taboo in Turkey and it was also the same for them. They observed that, gender defined roles are reflected on students’ behaviors and attitudes. Their tolerance in understanding of inhibitions and hesitations of their peers formed the basis of their success. They stated that working in this project helped them to overcome their prejudices and contributed their development in many ways. Conclusion: Peer educators internalize substantial amount of knowledge and gain self-confidence and important skills such as communication, problem solving and access to information.