Fidelity Assessment of the Evaluation System for Standardizing HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Services in Communities that Provided by civil Society Organizations

Abstract

HIV/AIDS infection is a global and national public health issue. In response, the Department of Disease Control has developed three regulations under the Ministry of Public Health, B.E. 2562, to encourage civil society organizations (CSOs) participation in the prevention and control of HIV and sexually transmitted infections in communities. The regulation of CSOs that offer HIV and STI services in communities to meet established standards serves as a key mechanism for advocating and protecting consumers. This study aimed to evaluate the system for regulating the standards of CSOs that provide HIV and STI services in communities with the objective to assess the system’s fidelity in the real-world implementation of the regulatory framework. This research and development was conducted with four steps: (1) review the literature and study the situation of the assessment of standards of civil society organizations providing HIV and STIs services in communities; (2) develop a system to assess standards of civil society organizations providing HIV and STIs services in communities; (3) pilot the assessment in 23 civil society organizations; and (4) assess the fidelity of the assessment. The samples were purposively selected including: (1) the results of the assessment of standards of 23 civil society organizations in the CHW/CBO certification system, and (2) 42 assessors. The tools used were the assessment checklist of the standards of civil society organizations providing HIV and STIs services in the community and focus group discussion questions. Fidelity was analyzed for the implementation of the assessment guidelines by content analysis and quantitative data analysis with frequency and percentage. The findings revealed that the developed regulatory system for CSOs providing HIV and STI services in communities could be effectively implemented at the national level and has demonstrated excellent fidelity in practical application. Policymakers are encouraged to promote the integration of CSOs at all levels into the assessment system to enhance the quality of services for identifying at-risk groups who have not yet accessed regular healthcare services in order to ensure sustainable community health care.