Sexual risk behaviour among HIV-infected women in the first twelve months after delivery in South Africa

This study aimed to assess sexual risk behaviour and its social correlates in HIV-infected women living in rural South Africa at six and twelve months post-partum. Participants were 699 HIV-positive women recruited prenatally by systematic sampling from twelve community health centres in Mpumalanga province, South Africa (mean age = 28.4 years, SD = 5.7; married =41.1%; serodiscordant or unknown partner status = 74.9%). They self-reported on their sexual activity six to twelve months after delivery; including use of condoms and partner involvement. Generalised linear mixed models were utilised to estimate unsafe sex outcomes from a prevention of mother to child transmission (PMTCT) intervention, socio-demographic factors, disclosure, and male involvement. About 20% of sexually active women in the past week had used condoms inconsistently at six and twelve months after delivery. Moreover, 16% and 18% of the women had not used a condom at last sex and 11% and 13% had unprotected sex with HIV-uninfected or unknown-status partners following delivery at six and twelve months, respectively. Higher inconsistent condom use was likely with lower male involvement. Promotion of condom use post-partum, as well as male involvement in sexual decisions, are important for safer sex post-partum by seropositive women.     

Support Group Needs for People Living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) in Communities around Durban,South Africa

The study constructed a participant centred perspective of what members of a support group for people living with HIV and AIDS (PLWHA) desired from their group meetings. The study sample (n = 34) was from three support groups of PLWHA in a province of South Africa (males = 7, female = 27, mean age = 34.2 years, SD = 6.8 years). Participants completed a brief survey and participated in focus group discussion on views on the ideal support group, actual experience with the support group, and solutions for effective support groups. Findings suggest most members of the support group experienced a high degree of stigma at home and needed a so-called ‘safe space’ to escape to and discuss issues with people experiencing similar problems. Respondents wanted to acquire skills to allow them to help themselves and others in the community. They also desired HIV education so that they could properly understand the virus and help the community understand it to reduce stigma.     

Responsible Alcoholic Beverages Sales and Services Training Intervention in Cape Town: A Pilot Study

The aim of this study was to pilot a responsible beverage service intervention in order to reduce alcohol-impaired road use. The sample included 20 shebeens including 10 licensed and 10 unlicensed establishments chosen from a list of alcohol serving establishments in Gugulethu, Cape Town. The study examined whether changes in knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of servers as well as BAC levels of patrons occurred as a result of receiving server intervention training. Results indicate that the training programme was effective in changing serving practices consistent with the techniques and strategies emphasized in the training. However, the breathalyser results for baseline and follow-up, respectively, in the intervention and control group did not show differences among patrons. It is recommended that mandatory server training be introduced in South Africa for licensed establishments and develop an incentive system to encourage voluntary use of server training for unlicensed establishments.     

Correlates of perceived HIV-related stigma among HIV-positive pregnant women in rural Mpumalanga province,South Africa

The study investigated correlates of perceived HIV-related stigma among 673 HIV-positive women from rural Mpumalanga province, South Africa (mean age 28 years old, SD = 5.73 years). The women completed measures of HIV-related stigma experience and related personal factors. Following multivariable logistic regression, results showed that lack of male involvement during the ante-natal visits was significantly associated with all four perceived HIV-related stigma factors. Lower income, intimate partner violence (IPV), lower education, and experienced HIV-related stigma were associated with a combination of the four components of perceived HIV-related stigma. From these findings, we conclude that higher levels of education, income, and partner involvement are protective factors against perceived HIV-related stigma, at multiple layers. Improving on adult education and income generating activities can help in reducing HIV-related stigma. Male partner involvement in their partner’s pregnancy, the initiation of support groups for both women and men, as well as community-based IPV prevention interventions may help to reduce perceived HIV-related stigma among women living with HIV.     

Alcohol Use,Problem Drinking and Health Risk Factors Among South African Youths

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of problem drinking among South African youth (18–24 years). A cross-sectional population-based household survey was conducted using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling approach. The total sample included 3123 participants (age range 18–24 years, 45.4% women) from four of nine provinces in South Africa. Results indicate that current alcohol was relatively more common among male (40.7%) than female youths (21.3%). Similarly, hazardous or harmful drinking was more prevalent among males (24.3%) than among women (12.9%). In multivariable analyses among men and women high on sexually permissiveness had hazardous or harmful alcohol use. Lifestyle including high peer pressure, and spending more nights away in a week were associated with hazardous or harmful alcohol use.