Health care workers can reduce exposure to HIV

Health care workers can reduce exposure to HIV by employing precautions to reduce the risk of exposure to contaminated blood. These precautions include barriers such as gloves, masks, protective eyeware or shields, and gowns or aprons which prevent exposure of the skin or mucous membranes to blood borne pathogens. Frequent and thorough washing of the skin immediately after being contaminated with blood or other bodily fluids can reduce the chance of infection. Finally, sharp objects like needles, scalpels and glass, are carefully disposed of to prevent needlestick injuries with contaminated items.^[106] Since intravenous drug use is an important factor in HIV transmission in developed countries, harm reduction strategies such as needle-exchange programmes are used in attempts to reduce the infections caused by drug abuse.^[107][108]

Mother-to-child

Current recommendations state that when replacement feeding is acceptable, feasible, affordable, sustainable and safe, HIV-infected mothers should avoid breast-feeding their infant. However, if this is not the case, exclusive breast-feeding is recommended during the first months of life and discontinued as soon as possible.^[109] It should be noted that women can breastfeed children who are not their own; see wet nurse.

Education

One way to change risky behavior is health education. Several studies^{[citation needed]} have shown the positive impact of education and health literacy on cautious sex behavior. Education works only if it leads to higher health literacy and general cognitive ability. This ability is relevant to understand the relationship between own risky behavior and possible outcomes like HIV-transmission.^[110] In July 2010, a UNAIDS Inter-Agency Task Team (IATT) on Education commissioned literature review found there was a need for more research into non-African^{[clarification needed]} (especially non-South African contexts), more research on the actual implementation of sex-education programmes (such as teacher training, access to related services through schools and the community, or parental attitudes to HIV and AIDS education) and more longitudinal studies on the deeper complexities of the relationship between education and HIV.^[111]