Real change begins with you

Real change begins with you
By Marc Lourdes

2008/11/10

KUALA LUMPUR: All that the medical student wanted was a free lunch and the chance to hobnob with celebrities. Little did Dr Teh Wee Min realise that his participation in an AIDS awareness programme in 2005 would end up being a life-changing experience.
"I went thinking I would enjoy a free lunch and meet some celebrities.

"But, as I took part in the event, I was forced to reflect more on the plight of AIDS patients," said Dr Teh.

He said the "It Begins With You" programme helped shape his personality, especially when it came to dealing with HIV-positive patients.

"The exposure to AIDS patients was good and helped in my profession. It helped shape my personality, especially in dealing with AIDS patients.

"I now try not to be as judgemental as I used to be when I would question why some patients bothered to seek treatment after choosing to take drugs in the first place.

"I now discard that notion and try not to be too judgemental. I have even formed close friendships with some of them."

Dr Teh is just one of the many success stories of the programme -- a collaborative effort between the government, civil society and the corporate sector aimed at increasing awareness about AIDS and reducing victims' social stigma, especially among the medical fraternity.

A collaboration between the Malaysian AIDS Council (MAC), Malaysian Society of HIV Medicine (MaSHM) and pharmaceutical giant Merck, Sharp and Dohme (MSD), the programme was introduced in 2005 to update on the HIV and AIDS scenario in Malaysia as well as to inspire medical students by highlighting the challenges faced by AIDS patients in the country.

At first, only about 100 students from the International Medical University (IMU) and Universiti Putra Malaysia took part.

The programme was soon a hit and attendance rose to more than 300 students from four universities.

At a panel discussion recently between MAC executive director Bakhtiar Talhah, MaSHM president Dr Christopher Lee, MSD corporate affairs director Abby Tan, Dr Teh and participant Yeo Kee Kiat, it was concluded that AIDS patients were still being discriminated against by society and, worrying still, by the medical community.

Bakhtiar said: "MAC and its partner organisations have experienced many cases of stigmatisation in the medical community.

"Sometimes doctors and nurses refused to even touch patients without gloves. There's a lot of judgment involved."

However, Dr Lee said, the stigma now was not as bad as it used to be.

"It has gradually lessened. The medical fraternity has changed and the Health Ministry has helped with that.

"I remember one houseman about 15 years ago who brought his mother to see me. She said she didn't want her son to handle HIV patients. That has since changed."



Dr Lee said discrimination prevented many AIDS victims from seeking treatment until they were critical. By then, it's too late as their condition worsens quickly.

"Stigma and discrimination also make work much harder. If doctors and nurses cannot accept it, you can forget about the pakcik and makcik doing so.

"We have to win this small battle to win the bigger war out there."

The idea, he said, was not only to get more doctors trained in handling infectious diseases but also to ensure that the doctors played their role.

The argument that some medical practitioners stigmatised AIDS patients was borne out by the initial reaction when Yeo came in contact with AIDS patients.

"I was scared and worried."

However, his perception changed after talking to the doctors and nurses.

"I was touched and wanted to do something for the patients because they were feeling isolated."

Meanwhile, Dr Lee said that the best way for medical students to learn about AIDS was by interacting with patients.

"Medical students aim to become doctors. What better way to achieve that than to see real patients? There is no better teacher than the patients themselves."

So, what can be done to improve the plight of HIV-positive patients and shield them from the negative perceptions of society?

Tan said universities and organisations needed to carry out more awareness programmes.

"We can only do so much and we need to work together on this."

She added that plans were in the pipeline to include nurses in future "It Begins With You" programmes.

Bakhtiar said everybody should realise that they had a role to play in combating the stigma against AIDS. "It's not a passing issue but a growing problem."

Yeo added to this saying that more programmes should target the community.

"Targeting colleges would a good start because that would bring change in 10 or 20 years."

Dr Lee feels private hospitals can do more.

"The response is mainly from the public sector. There are a couple of infectious disease specialists in the private sector, but the average doctor at a private hospital, unfortunately, is still uncomfortable when it comes to handling AIDS patients.

"There have been cases where a patient is diagnosed with AIDS at 4pm, and by 8pm, is discharged and sent to Kuala Lumpur Hospital."

Ultimately, Dr Lee said, patients should be free to go anywhere and provide a true medical history. The reality is that they now have to mask their condition.
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