The HIV/STD Training Team offers a variety of training courses and modules to improve the skills of persons involved in HIV/STD prevention and intervention in Texas.
Courses Available: (click on title for a course description)
See the training schedule for upcoming courses in your area.
On-line Courses:
Course Descriptions:
Bridging Theory and Practice - This two-day course puts a new emphasis on behavioral interventions. It covers basic behavioral science theories and how the theories can be translated and adapted into interventions to address the needs of the community. This training provides an opportunity to build a common language and understanding of the various interventions. The concepts of logic modeling and factors that influence behavior are defined to help programs more effectively utilize and adapt behaviorally-based interventions.
Outcome Monitoring - This two-day course is designed to give program managers and prevention specialists the basic tools to evaluate their programs' effectiveness. Key concepts defined and explained include factors that influence behavior, differentiating process and outcome measures, logic modeling, and data collection methods. The training is useful for specialists who work with community, group or individual level evidence-based interventions. Prerequisite: Bridging Theory and Practice.
*Note: This course is often combined with Bridging Theory and Practice as one three-day course.
Presentation and Facilitation Skills - This three-day course focuses on developing the skills necessary to present information and/or to facilitate a group or class. If you are facilitating evidence-based intervention groups, leading workshops, or presenting educational sessions to the community, this course is for you. You will receive tips and techniques on how to be more effective when you speak or facilitate a group. You will learn:
- How to select an instructional strategy
- The basics of presentation skills
- How to use and design visual aids
- How to develop a simple lesson plan
- Key elements from adult learning theory
- The basics of group facilitation skills
- Tips for effectively conducting a guided group discussion
- Classroom/group management techniques
You will practice using the new skills by delivering a short presentation. This class will also provide the opportunity for you to take home a recorded copy of your presentation for your personal review.
Safety One - This one-day course is designed for new outreach staff, DIS staff and/or others health care professionals working in the field. It is designed to develop awareness, confidence and skills of participants in order for them to assess and respond appropriately to unpredictable field situations.
Introduction to Sexually Transmitted Disease Intervention (ISTDI) - This 9-day course is designed for full-time disease intervention specialists (DIS). It emphasizes the development of skills and techniques for interviewing STD patients in order to identify sex partners for referral to medical evaluation. It also focuses on how to help patients manage current infections and prevent future ones. Participants practice communication, problem solving, and motivation skills in role-plays, and receive feedback from the instructor. The course includes an introduction to visual case analysis for syphilis, case management, and the Lot System. Prerequisite: successful completion of the CDC "2006 Employee Development Guide."
Fundamentals of Sexually Transmitted Disease Intervention (Fund of ISTDI) - This 5-day course is designed for counselors, managers of staff who conduct partner services, public health nurses, or other prevention workers who need comprehensive partner service skills. Focusing on gonorrhea and chlamydia, this class will cover interview periods, communication, assertiveness, problem solving, the STD interview format, field investigations, partner notification and referral, and a brief overview of case management. This course does not provide in-depth syphilis case management or visual case analysis. Prerequisite: successful completion of selected portions of the CDC "2006 Employee Development Guide."
Risk Reduction for Disease Intervention - This workshop will review risk reduction concepts and build skills related to the implementation of those concepts during an interview to help patients reduce the transmission and/or acquisition of HIV/STD. Critical elements of the workshop include: when risk reduction should occur in the interview format, how to use information gleaned through motivational interviewing to help patients to reduce their risk, how to develop and negotiate a risk reduction step, and special considerations in risk reduction with PLWHA. Target audience: FLS, DIS and associated staff
Internet Partner Elicitation and Notification - This workshop discusses current recommendations and best practices in elicitation and notification of disease contacts with internet-related locating information. Participants will review current modes of online communication, how patients’ internet usage affects the interview, tools for provider and patient referral, and program operating procedure recommendations for use of internet resources in notification of contacts. Target audience: Program Managers, FLS, DIS and associated staff
HIV Partner Counseling and Referral Services (PCRS) - This 3-day course is a skills-based training designed for staff in both prevention and care programs working with people living with HIV. This course provides participants with the knowledge and skills to conduct partner counseling, elicitation, and field-oriented HIV partner notification. Participants also role-play situations likely to be encountered during an HIV field investigation. Additionally, the course will provide a perspective on local PCRS considerations. Prerequisite: successful completion of the course Fundamentals of Prevention Counseling.
STD Facts and Fallacies - Facts and Fallacies is a two day course for health professionals who interact with client populations at risk for HIV, STDs and Hepatitis. This course is designed primarily for public health professionals including, but not limited to Risk Reduction Specialists, Community Health Workers, Case Managers and Substance Abuse Counselors. Information on HIV, Gonorrhea, Chlamydia, Syphilis, Herpes, Human Papilloma Virus and Hepatitis is provided. Discussions center on the transmission, course of infection, symptoms, complications and the relationship with HIV for each infection. No prerequisites.
Conducting Comprehensive Risk Counseling and Services (CRCS) in Texas - This is a three-day course designed to introduce concepts and to build skills for staff implementing CRCS. CRCS is multi-session, individualized risk reduction counseling designed to assist individuals at high risk for acquiring or transmitting HIV to accomplish and maintain behavior change. This course provides staff with the Texas standards for CRCS, the core elements of the intervention, and opportunities to put skills into practice, to prepare them to work with clients.
Protocol Based Prevention Counseling (PBC) - This four and a half (4½) day course focuses extensively on communication and counseling skills to help risk reduction specialists (RRS) make information meaningful to clients in order to facilitate behavior change. The course is based on RESPECT and RESPECT II research projects funded by the CDC in the 1990s, considered individual-level evidence based interventions. The protocol is used as a tool to guide the discussion with the client about: his/her risk(s) as it relates to HIV/STD/HCV, his/her most recent risk and the development of a risk reduction step. There are protocols for the various types of sessions: initial, follow-up negative results, follow-up positive results (HIV and/or HCV) and Rapid HIV Test protocols for initial, follow-up negative results, and preliminary positive results. The course is developed to allow participants time to role-play sessions using the majority of the protocols to ensure a reasonable comfort level with the protocols before using them with clients. Participants will need to have the technical information (immune system, epidemiology, etc) prior to attending this course. The on-line Risk Reduction Groundwork modules provide this foundation. Prerequisite: Completion of Risk Reduction Groundwork and module tests.
Quality Assurance for Protocol-Based Counseling - This one-day course is for supervisors and staff providing quality assurance for agencies implementing protocol-based counseling in Texas. Areas explored in this training include performing staff observations and giving feedback, implementing protocol-based counseling with fidelity, and conducting chart reviews. It is required for supervisors of DSHS-funded agencies implementing protocol-based counseling; it is recommended for supervisors of any agency that is implementing protocol-based counseling. Prerequisite: 4 ½ day Protocol-Based Prevention Counseling training.
Mastering Visual Case Analysis (VCA) - This half-day workshop is designed for Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) and associated staff that supervise and/or manage Partner Services activities related to syphilis. Participants will review the basic concepts and the epidemiological basis for Visual Case Analysis (VCA). Participants will have the opportunity to practice plotting multiple case studies to build skills and understanding of how this tool helps them focus disease intervention efforts.
Using Social Networks: A Recruitment Strategy for Counseling, Testing and Referral Services - The goals of this three-day training are: to provide participants with a comprehensive understanding of how to utilize social networks as a recruitment strategy for Counseling, Testing and Referral (CTR), and to develop knowledge and skills needed to successfully implement SNS for CTR in HIV/STD prevention agencies. SNS allows agencies to reach highest-risk persons, hard-to-reach communities and HIV infected individuals who are unaware of their status by building on existing relationships of trust, in turn, creating positive responses to HIV testing messages. At the end of the training, participants will be able to differentiate SNS from other activities, explain the four phases of the SNS, describe the benefits of SNS to reach people at high risk for infection, and develop a plan for implementation.
Recommended participants: staff of agencies interested in implementing (recommend 1 project manager/coordinator and 1 implementation staff member), and state contract monitoring and/or technical assistance staff and one person who is responsible for monitoring and/or providing technical assistance.
Online Courses
Expedited Partner Services: The New Standard of Care for Treating Sexually Transmitted Diseases - This course covers the rationale, background and mechanics of Expedited Partner Therapy (EPT). The course covers Texas Medical board changes, Pharmacy Board opinion as well as extensive research illustrating that EPT is a useful tool in the fight against chlamydia and gonorrhea in heterosexual sex partners. The course takes approximately 1 hour to complete.
CMEs, CNEs and continuing education credits for Social Workers and Certified Health Education Specialists are offered for this course. In order to earn Continuing Education credits, learners must:
complete the online course
successfully pass the post test
complete the course evaluation
The online course is available through the TRAIN Texas system.
Risk Reduction Groundwork - This is the DSHS HIV/STD/TB Unit version of the Basics of Disease Transmission, Prevention, and Testing. This online course focuses specifically on risk reduction related to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and the Hepatitis C Virus (HCV). This serves as the requirement for the model protocol for HIV counseling and testing referenced in Health & Safety Code 85.081.
This course is designed for 3 specific audiences:
For participants attending Protocol Based Prevention Counseling (PBC). Completion of Groundwork is required prior to attendance at the training.
For new employees to DSHS HIV/STD prevention contractors, including evidence-based interventions.
For workers interested in basic information on disease transmission and testing as it relates to public health, Groundwork may be completed early in your job orientation as an introduction to prevention of HIV/STD/HCV.
For participants attending PBC:
Completion of Risk Reduction Groundwork is required a t least 3 business days prior to the start of the PBC course. Completion of the course requires a score of 75% on the final test. Persons who do not finish the Groundwork course risk not getting a certificate of completion for PBC.
Participants completing Groundwork as a job requirement (groups 1 & 2 above) should print a certificate for their employee file. Multiple certificates can be printed from the Texas TRAIN system. Instructions on how to print a certificate are included at the end of the course, as well as in the general information site below.
The online course is available through the TRAIN Texas system.
Texas HIV Medication Program 101 - This training teaches case managers how to serve clients effectively by referring HIV clients to appropriate resources, decreasing errors and omissions on THMP application forms, and helping HIV clients with the recertification process. The online course is available through the TRAIN Texas system.
HIV Case Management 101: A Foundation - This course provides an overview for case managers to serve their clients effectively. Case managers will gain practical knowledge about the HIV infection, learn how drugs treat the virus, and understand antiretroviral therapy guidelines. The course also covers funding and planning for client services as well as available support services. Case managers will learn about the variety of services available and what case managers are expected to do for clients. At the end of the training, case managers will understand the disease and have the critical thinking skills required to meet their clients' needs. The online course is available through the TRAIN Texas system. Part B funded case managers are required to complete this training with a 70% score within six (6) months of hire.