Natia Shengelia

Curatio International Foundation | CIF · Research Unit

Background: The university years are associated with a variety of stressors, and recently, COVID-19 has presented an additional burden on students’ mental well-being. As mental health manifestations of stressors may differ between countries, this study compared students from Switzerland and the Republic of Georgia regarding the burden of stressors...

BACKGROUND There are currently large gaps in unit cost data for TB, and substantial variation in the quality and methods of unit cost estimates. Uncertainties remain about sample size, range and comprehensiveness of cost data collection for different purposes. We present the methods and results of a project implemented in Kenya, Ethiopia, India, Th...

The results of the cost component of five years research investigating the impact, mechanisms of effect and costs of the provider incentive payment scheme for Tuberculosis care in Georgia. The cost component includes provider and patient side costs, as well as intervention cost. The research is a collaboration of Curatio International Foundation...

Background: The decade between the ages of 14 and 25 is a particularly vulnerable period for the development of mental health problems, especially of common mental disorders. Mental health and psychosocial prevention and support services for young people in the Republic of Georgia have been extremely limited, leaving a wide treatment and care gap....

BACKGROUND Patient-centred care along with optimal financing of inpatient and outpatient services are the main priorities of the Georgia National TB Programme (NTP). This paper presents TB diagnostics and treatment unit cost, their comparison with NTP tariffs and how the study findings informed TB financing policy. METHODS Top-down (TD) and bottom...

Objectives This paper presents the iterative process of participatory multistakeholder engagement that informed the development of a new national tuberculosis (TB) policy in Georgia, and the lessons learnt. Methods Guided by realist evaluation methods, a multistakeholder dialogue was organised to elicit stakeholders’ assumptions on challenges and p...

This is a report of the research which studied satisfaction with the services of the Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) programs in western Georgia among the beneficiaries of the program, their quality of life and factors related to the level of satisfaction and the quality of life.(in Georgian language). The research was implemented on the basis of...

The publication is a report of the research which studied satisfaction with the services of the Opioid Substitution Therapy (OST) programs in western Georgia among the beneficiaries of the program, their quality of life and factors related to the level of satisfaction and the quality of life. The research was implemented on the basis of a participa...

Introduction In order to determine the impact of HIV prevention and care programs, it is essential to look at both HIV incidence and prevalence estimates and trends over time. We estimated the HIV incidence and prevalence and assessed the trend using data from three cross-sectional surveys of men who have sex with men (MSM) in two cities in Georgia...

Background The HIV epidemic in Georgia is increasing. Data shows that compared to previous years, Georgia has increasingly more HIV-infected individuals than previous assessments. Select client groups remain hard to reach by harm reduction programs. The need for innovative strategies to involve these individuals is imperative. Methods The followin...

Introduction: In Georgia as in most Eastern European countries, injecting drug use remains one of the leading transmission modes of HIV infection. This paper aims to identify HIV prevalence and risk determinants among people who inject drugs (PWID). Methodology: A cross -sectional, anonymous bio-behavioral survey of PWID was conducted in seven c...

Background The healthcare financing reforms initiated by the Government of Georgia in 2007 have positively affected inpatient service utilisation and enhanced financial protection, especially for the poor, but they have failed to facilitate outpatient service use among chronic patients. Non-communicable diseases significantly affect Georgia’s agein...

The poster describes key methodological challenges emerged during population size estimation studies’ fieldwork while using an innovative method - Network-based capture-recapture (NCRC). This method proposed by Dombrowski was introduced among methamphetamine users in the USA in 2012. The NCRC was first time applied in Georgia among Men who have Sex...

Introduction: An accurate estimation of the population size of men who have sex with men (MSM) is critical to the success of HIV program planning and to monitoring of the response to epidemic as a whole, but is quite often missing. In this study, our aim was to estimate the population size of MSM in Tbilisi, Georgia and compare it with other estim...

The current study describes the most recent wave of Bio-Behavioral Surveillance (BBS) Survey among prisoner population in Georgia, that has been conducted since 2008. The study aims to measure HIV prevalence among prisoners, monitor their risk behavior and generate evidence for advocacy and policy-making. The study used a Simple Random Sampling Me...

The current study describes the most recent wave of Bio-Behavioral Surveillance (BBS) Survey surveys among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) in Georgia the study has been implemented since 2007. The study aims to measure HIV prevalence among MSMs and also was looking at HCV and STI (Syphilis) prevalence. The study used a cross-sectional design and r...

The current study describes the most recent wave of BBS surveys among People Who Inject Drugs (PWIDs) in Georgia. Bio-BBS surveys among PWIDs has been conducted since 2002. The aim of this study is to measure HIV prevalence among PWIDs, monitor risk behaviors among these group and generate evidence for advocacy and policy-making. The study used a c...

The objective of this article is to assess the impact of the new health financing reform in Georgia—‘medical insurance for the poor (MIP)’—which uses private insurance companies and delivers state-subsidized health benefits to the poorest groups of the Georgian population. Methods To evaluate the reform we looked at access to health care services...

Background In 2007 the Georgian government introduced a full state-subsidized Medical Insurance Program for the Poor (MIP) to provide better financial protection and improved access for socially and financially disadvantaged citizens. Studies evaluating MIP have noted its positive impact on financial protection, but find only a marginal impact on i...

Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence but with a high potential for the development of a widespread epidemic. From the early years of epidemic injecting drug use was the main route of HIV transmission, however, for the last two years heterosexual transmission is prevailing. During the last two years heterosexual transmission w...

Executive summary Background and objectives Estimates of the number of people at risk for HIV infection, including men who have sex with men (MSM), are crucial for prevention, treatment and care planning. The Georgia Population Size Estimation of MSM is the second study of its kind (the first one conducted in 2010) to estimate the size of this popu...

Executive Summary: Background and objectives Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence, but with a high potential for the development of a widespread epidemic. From the early years of epidemic injecting drug use was the main route of HIV transmission, however, for the last two years heterosexual transmission is prevailing. During...

Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate HIV testing practice among female sex workers (FSWs) and men who have sex with men (MSM) in Tbilisi, Georgia and to identify determinants of never testing behaviour among MSM. Methods: Data obtained in two rounds of bio-behavioural surveys among FSWs (2006 and 2009) and MSM (2007 and 2010) were...

Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence but high potential for developing a widespread epidemic. From the early stage of HIV epidemic in Georgia injecting drug use was the major mode of transmission. However, for the last two years heterosexual transmission became prevailing route for HIV spread. Current study represent the subs...

Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence but high potential for developing a widespread epidemic. From the early stage of HIV epidemic in Georgia injecting drug use was the major mode of transmission. However, for the last two years heterosexual transmission became prevailing route for HIV spread. Current study represent the subs...

Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence but with a high potential for the development of a widespread epidemic. From the early years of epidemic injecting drug use was the main route for HIV transmission, however for the last two years heterosexual transmission is prevailing. According to the national HIV surveillance system, in...

Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence but with a high potential for the development of a widespread epidemic. From the early years of epidemic injecting drug use was the main route for HIV transmission, however for the last two years heterosexual transmission is prevailing. By 2012 there were 23 000 prisoners in the Georgian p...

Georgia is among the countries with low HIV/AIDS prevalence but with a high potential for the development of widespread epidemic. From the early years of epidemic injecting drug use was the main route for HIV transmission, however, for the last two years heterosexual transmission is prevailing. According to the national HIV surveillance system, inf...