Testing a PMTCT infant-feeding counseling program in Tanzania.

This report describes the second phase of a study that developed and tested an integrated program of counselor job aids mother take-home materials and counselor training in a healthcare site providing counseling for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) in Moshi District in the Kilimanjaro Region of Tanzania. Conducted locally the participatory formative research used in phase one and described in an earlier publication uncovered substantial weaknesses in the counseling of mothers and provided the practical detailed information needed to develop the intervention. The overall objective was to produce a cost-effective culturally sensitive and technologically appropriate program to improve the quality of infant-feeding counseling. A further objective was to strengthen HIV-positive mothers ability to make an informed choice and then safely practice a feeding method appropriate for their personal situations. (excerpt)