SCORA-SCOPH M’sia World AIDS Day Forum – SMMAMS Malaysia

Name of the activity: SCORA-SCOPH M’sia World AIDS Day Forum

Country/NMO: SMMAMS Malaysia

Program: HIV, AIDS and other STIs

Contact information: contact [email protected] to get in touch with the Activity Coordinator

Type of the activity: First-time Activity

Category: Education

Focus area: Prevention of all STIs or are specific STIs, Removing stigmatization and empowering people living with HIV, Raising awareness among the general public about STIs, STI education or training for future health-care professions

Sustainable Development Goals addressed: SDG 3 (Good health and Well-Being), SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities)

General description:

Through the SCORA Malaysia World AIDS Day Forum, we intend to explain to the medical students and also the general public on what is HIV/AIDS, how it can spread, whether it can be transmitted just by close contact and all sort of questions that if not answered accurately, people tend to place stigma towards people who are living with HIV (PLHIV).

Problem statement:

In 2020 alone, there were 3146 new recorded cases of HIV infection, which led to Malaysia having 92063 PLHIVs cumulatively. Out of that figure, 28085 were reported to have reached the AIDS stage. More than 70% of HIV new infections were reported among people aged 20-39 years old, which is when they’re studying in tertiary institutions and at the early working stage. The part of society that is affected the most is the MSM, followed by heterosexuals, and the third in the ranking is IVDU.

Target groups:

• General population
• Medical students
• Youth
• LGBTQIA+ community

Beneficiaries:

• General population
• Medical students
• Healthcare Students
• Doctors
• Youth
• LGBTQIA+ community
• IVDUs

Objectives:

– To ensure participants have an 80% increase in knowledge about HIV/AIDS after attending the event.

– To ensure participants have an 80% increase in knowledge about PrEP/PEP and other ways of HIV prevention after attending the event.

– To ensure participants understand the problems and stigmas faced by the PLHIVs and key populations after attending the event.

– To achieve a total of 100 registered participants for our event on 17th of December 2022.

– To ensure that 80% of the participants rated 4 out of 5 for their overall satisfaction towards our event.

Indicators of Success:

– At least 75% of the participants will have an 80% increase in knowledge about HIV/AIDS after attending the event.

– At least 75% of the participants will have an 80% increase in knowledge about PrEP/PEP and other ways of HIV prevention after attending the event.

– At least 75% of the participants will understand the problems and stigmas faced by the PLHIVs and key populations after attending the event.

– At least 75% of the registered participants showed up during our event on 17th of December 2022.

– At least 80% of the participants rated ‘yes’ when asked whether they enjoyed the event as referred to in the post-event evaluation.

Methodology:

To promote the event, the Media and Publicity teams from both SCORA and SCOPH will work hand in hand to produce 4 posts and Q&A in Instagram stories about 2-3 weeks per week (1st and 2nd week of December). The Q&A will revolve around myths around HIV/AIDS/condom, mode of transmission and prevention. We will also talk more about the virus itself, the type, how it enters our cell and replicates as well as why viral load is important to know for PLHIVs.

During the forum, the participants will be exposed to the basics of HIV/AIDS. They get to know the difference between those two terms, HIV and AIDS. They also will see the mode of transmission, treatment and prevention of HIV, which will be explained by the panel of speakers. The medical students and members of the public will also hear some stories that were the first-hand experience of Mr. al-Hafiz being a PLHIV himself and how he fought with the stigmas and unequal treatment towards the PLHIV.

Plans for evaluation:

The Research Executive will prepare and conduct pre- & post-event evaluations with

attendees. Use the Likert scale to allow participants to rate their understanding towards

HIV/AIDS, PrEP and PEP as well as the stigma against PLHIVs. The questions we will try

to limit to 10 maximum so as to not bore the attendees. For Question 5-7, there will be

sub-questions that will be asked. The questions will be discussed further once we’re

reaching near the event date.

The following are the questions that will be asked in the form.

Q1) Did you enjoy the event? If not, why?

Q2) What do you like most in the event?

Q3) What do you like least in the event?

Q4) What could have been done to make this event better?

Q5) Understanding towards HIV/AIDS.

Q6) Understanding towards PrEP and PEP.

Q7) Understanding the problems and stigmas faced by PLHIVs and key communities.

Q8) Would you like to participate in our next event?

External collaborations:

Kuala Lumpur AIDS Support Services Society (KLASS), People Like Us Hang Out (PLUHO), MUC Healthcare and Centre of Excellence for Research in AIDS – University of Malaya (CERiA-UM) are our event partners.