SATELLIFE Offers Link To International AIDS Conference

Roye A. Bourke
2000-07-07

Press Release: Health professionals interested in the XIIIth International AIDS Conference in Durban, South Africa from July 9-14, 2000, can participate through an electronic conference called ProCAARE (Program for Collaboration Against AIDS and Related Epidemics), hosted by SATELLIFE, a non-profit based in Watertown, MA, USA.

Through the ProCAARE discussion group, public health physicians, nurses, researchers, policy makers and other interested health practitioners from all over the world will be able to receive daily, up-to-the-minute reports from the AIDS Conference. Subscription to ProCAARE is free of charge to anyone with e-mail capabilities.

"SATELLIFE is offering a discussion opportunity based upon a set of reporters' summaries of the presentations at the conference including the oral presentations, poster sessions and abstracts," according to Holly Ladd, Executive Director of SATELLIFE. "ProCAARE offers an in-depth exploration among peers in the field who are interested in the clinical perspective."

Coverage of the AIDS Conference via the World Wide Web will remain out of reach for most health workers in remote areas. Ms. Ladd explains, "For those without high bandwidth and with little time to sit and watch a whole two hour presentation, waiting to hear some specific piece of information, for example, what we are offering is a very important alternative."

ProCAARE, or Program for the Collaboration Against AIDS and Related Epidemics, was established as a partnership between SATELLIFE and the Harvard AIDS Institute/Harvard School of Public Health, and has been operating since 1996. The goal of the discussion group is to provide a forum for dialogue among clinical and public health practitioners, both in the developing and industrialized world, who are engaged in the fight against AIDS. Discussion centers on the continuum of biomedical and care issues covering such topics as prevention, access to drugs, home and institutional care, education, and epidemiology.

"ProCAARE ensures that the health professional in the developing world can not only communicate and exchange information internationally, but also with colleagues within the region who share similar challenges and concerns," stated Dr. Leela McCullough, Director of Information Services at SATELLIFE.

To maintain a high-quality and lively interaction, moderators actively monitor the discussion. The moderators also support the network by supplying summaries of current and relevant research findings and other material of interest. A Steering Committee comprised of representatives from internationally-recognized institutions in Africa, Asia and Latin America, Europe and North America guides the overall direction of the discussion group.

A team of key correspondents will be covering the AIDS 2000 conference in Durban and providing daily reports to the discussion forum. ProCAARE will then disseminate session reports and on-site news about HIV/AIDS care-related themes and topics that are covered at the Conference. "Subscription is simple, takes only a minute and is free of charge," said Dr. McCullough. For an automated response and subscription, send an e-mail to [email protected] For questions or further details, please contact SATELLIFE at information@ usa.healthnet.org.

In addition to the ProCAARE service, SATELLIFE publishes a bi-monthly bulletin called HealthNet News-AIDS which features summaries of articles, abstracts, full text articles, clinical guidelines, Web sites, and other relevant information surrounding the AIDS epidemic.