In this paper the authors argue that touch in nursing has a double meaning: one the one hand, it is a utilitarian and technical activity in which the bodies of nurses and patients are objects; on the other hand, touching is intimate, emotional and human and the bodies of both actors are subjects. The attention of studies on nursing and in nursing practices is often limited to the emotional reactions of patients. However, body care in nursing requires a constant listening to the body of both patients and nurses. Touching in nursing re ects cultural ideas, values and norms in a society. When the emotional response of nurses to touch is also taken into account, touching is developed into an art that re-creates good contacts and human relationships in a medical setting. In an ethnographic study carried out within a psychiatric setting, using methods of participant observation, the authors demonstrate how touch is related to age, gender, power, and social relationships which, in turn, in uence emotional response. Such a response serves as a marker for determining if care is satisfying and how it is valued in the culture.

Despite the challenges, a high percentage of patients were successfully treated. Treatment outcomes were not adversely affected by withdrawal of international supervisory staff.

The excellent retention over >6 years in this large cohort demonstrates that ART delivery at the primary care level in Myanmar is feasible and should encourage support for further ART expansion in the country.

A cross-sectional study of patients living with HIV/ AIDS treated during 2003 to 2007 in decentralized, rural health centers in Zambia was performed to measure virological outcomes after 12 months of antiretroviral therapy and identify factors associated with virological failure. Data from 228 patients who started antiretroviral therapy >12 months prior were analyzed. In all, 93% received stavudine þ lamivudine þ nevirapine regimens, and median antiretroviral therapy duration was 23.5 months (interquartile range 20-28). Of the 205 patients tested for viral load, 177 (86%) had viral load <1000 copies/mL. Probability of developing virological failure (viral load >1000 copies/mL) was 8.9%at 24 months and 19.6% at 32 months. Predictors for virological failure were <100% adherence, body mass index <18.5 kg/m 2 , and women <40 years old. Of those with virological failure who underwent 3 to 6 months of intensive adherence counseling, 45% obtained virological success. In a remote, resource-limited setting in decentralized health centers, virological and immunological assessments of patients on antiretroviral therapy >12 months showed that positive health outcomes are achievable.