Abstract #21  -  Does monetary facilitation improve work output among community AIDS support agents volunteers? A TASO experience.
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Dr Mukuzi Muhereza - The AIDS Support Organisation (TASO)
Additional Authors:  Dr MUKUZI Muhereza,
Aim: This paper tries to answer the question of whether community volunteer’s pay has a relationship with their motivation thus increase in their output. Since its inception TASO has excelled in counseling medical chronic care services to over 700,000 clients. TASO has always clients from AIC and other referral VCT providers. TASO - Masindi, trained a total of fourty community AIDS support agents (CASAs) to support their fellow clients on ART especially in adherence and support.
Method / Issue: The first batch of trained CASAs was done in August 2007 and was required to attend community drug distribution points and support in adherence to fellow clients. Monthly reports were also required from them. The main variables in their reports included home visits done referrals and adherence. There was no monetary facilitation whatsoever, in the first four months except a monthly stipend of repairing of their bicycles of USD 60. Since Feb 2008 there has been an increase in their stipend to include a lunch while at the cDDPs and another flat rate, all coming to USD 75. We therefore analyze the outputs of these volunteers comparing both periods, with a hypothesis that output would have increased with increase in the monetary terms.
Results / Comments: The outputs of the various periods were compared and as for the home visits done there was not statistically significant variation. For the referrals, there was a drop in the period when the stipend was increased. Lastly, the adherence levels in both periods were static.
Discussion: Volunteers should be facilitated in terms of material support like modes of transport like bicycles and its repair costs, a communal lunch point and materials like touches, umbrellas and rain coats rather than monetary cash or even its equivalents.
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