Voluntary Counselling and Testing for HIV is an effective and important strategy for prevention, care and support. The study examines factors affecting utilization of VCT among pregnant women in Lesotho. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods was employed. The quantitative part of the study utilized the 2004 Lesotho Demographic and Health Survey data and the qualitative study drew on data from focus group discussions among women attending antenatal clinics in Maseru and Leribe. The majority of pregnant women have never been tested for HIV/AIDS. Married women were less likely to go for VCT as compared with those who are not married. The study also established that place of residence, education and marital status were significantly associated with knowledge of HIV/AIDS and ever been tested for HIV. Stigma and discriminations and fear associated with HIV testing were highlighted as the main factors hindering the use of VCT services among pregnant women. However, knowing one’s status in order to access early treatment was the main reason for utilizing VCT. The VCT promotion programme for pregnant women in Lesotho has to focus on enhancing positive perception of VCT and alleviating perceived barriers related to the use of VCT services. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

HIV/AIDS remains overpoweringly an illness of the marginalized and stigmatized in / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2007.

This study is situated within a poststructuralist paradigm and uses qualitative methods to examine how teachers map and make sense of intersecting barriers to basic education embedded in their specific schooling contexts and communities, in particular, in a context in which HIV/AIDS prevalence is high. The study examines how teacher constructions of their experiences of teaching in a particular context shape their taken for granted understandings of the intersecting barriers to basic education. In other words, it explored how teachers position themselves within historically constructed discourses about their learners and the community in which they teach, and how these shape their understandings of barriers to basic education. The participants were thirty-six teachers (ten males and twenty six females) from five schools in the Richmond Municipality. Focus group interviews were used to access participants understanding and experiences' of barriers to schooling in the context of HIV and AIDS. Within the focus group sessions, participatory techniques were used as a means of drawing out sensitive information from participants, namely, a ranking exercise and the vulnerability matrix. The findings in the study suggest that the teachers relied on a deficiency framework as a basis for understanding the intersecting barriers to basic education in an HIV and AIDS context. Five key themes relating to this framework emerged: a discourse of detachment; silences; difference as deficit; normalisation discourse; and a discourse of caring. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

Intermediate Phase learners represent our "window of opportunity" since children in the middle childhood years are in the process of acquiring knowledge and forming attitudes and beliefs which will have long-term implications in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This is an in depth study to examine how HIV/AIDS education is fostered in the Intermediate Phase in a school. The focus is to examine the level of knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS of the learners and Life-skills educators and how it is managed in the school. The study used a mixed methodology design employing both quantitative (learners' questionnaires) and qualitative (educators' and manager's interviews) methods of data collection. The questionnaire embodied both open-ended and closed questions which were further categorized into dominant themes: level of knowledge and understanding of HIV/AIDS, sources of information, learners' attitudes and myths/misconceptions abut HIV/AIDS. The data produced was triangulated with the responses from the educators' and manager's interviews. Analysis of the data was carried out in the Microsoft Excel program by using the programs graph wizard to generate bar graphs for easier interpretation of the open-ended questions. The findings of the questionnaire showed positive results and left me with a sense of optimism for the future, although there were areas of concern as in the findings of the grade four learners. The educators' responses to the interviews revealed the reasons for the concern which are attributed to lack of training in life-skills and sexuality education, unavailability of resources and poor knowledge about policy documents. The management response also revealed lack of focus and commitment from all stakeholders to give impetus to the fight against HIV/AIDS. The role of the school and religious and civic organisations cannot be underestimated in the fight against AIDS. We should empower our children with education and life skills - not only so that they can prevent themselves from being infected, but also so that they can have the opportunity to learn to become compassionate caring members of a society that will be struggling with the aftermath of HIV/AIDS for a long time to come. / Thesis (M.Ed.) - University of Durban-Westville, 2003.

Currently in South Africa much emphasis is being placed on minimizing barriers to learning and maximizing participation to learning. Education White Paper 6 of 2001 draws attention to the barriers to learning in South Africa and highlights HIV/AIDS as one of the barriers to learning. This study, therefore, seeks to ascertain what barriers to learning impact on the lives of children affected by HIV/AIDS and what support exists for children affected by HIV/AIDS. Further, this study is part of a larger project commissioned by the NRF on the impact of the HIV/AIDS pandemic on learning in the Richmond District. A participatory research framework was employed in this study using qualitative methods of gathering data. A structured participant interview schedule was devised using projective and drawing exercises to get participants to volunteer information. Six children from a Day Care and Support Centre in Richmond were selected purposefully as research participants. Three focus group sessions were held to gather the data from the participants. The data that was gathered was subjected to stringent content analysis from which topics and categories emerged which were used to report on the data. The data was analysed using critical theory in general and Young's theory of oppression in particular. The findings of this study confirm that poverty, issues pertaining to family responsibility, the emotional trauma of losing loved ones and the crime, violence and abuse that affected children are exposed to, all serve as barriers to learning. Further, the findings indicate that children are aware of the agencies from which assistance could be accessed. However, the financial assistance in terms of child support grants is not being fully exploited by those who qualify for it. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

This study examines the use of participatory methodology with primary school children in mapping HIV/AIDS as a barrier to learning in KwaZulu-Natal. The study draws on a larger National Research Funded (NRF) Project1 undertaken in the Richmond area of KwaZulu-Natal. Data was produced through semi-structured interviews of six researchers involved in the NRF project; through document analysis of the data sets involving the learners and facilitators, the NRF project report and the related journal articles based on the project; and through field observation conducted by me. The findings of the study suggest that in research on HIV/AIDS it is essential to seek participatory ways of enabling children’s voices on the pandemic as it unfolds in their context. High researcher reflexivity is necessary in order to become sensitive and responsive to the challenges of including children’s voices in vulnerable circumstances. Findings also suggest the importance of viewing ethics as situated practice. The study ends with implications for research methodology courses, researcher training and evidence from children for policy on HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2008.

The emergence of renewed emphasis on risk and risk management has opened a huge portal in attempting to deal with the negative impacts of mv/AIDS in the workplace. The study recognises the importance of risk management in achieving optimal benefits within any organisation. Furthermore it examines the devastating effect of mv/AIDS on the social and economic structure of South Africa and provides a benchmark programme in addressing this Issue. A case study is presented (Care for the Caregivers Programme, at McCord Hospital), which provides the framework of a programme in operation. The dissertation dissects the programme and evaluates the outcomes against a set of developed criteria. In maximising the benefits of such programmes, emphasis on proper implementation and monitoring is essential. The study proceeds to provide suggestions to harness the full potential ofthe programme. v / Thesis (MBA)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2004.

This study endeavoured to critically appraise the current models that have been designed to evaluate the HIVI AIDS epidemic. The flaw with the models is that they are not based on adequate data. Subsequently, the incorporation of the epidemic variables into Corporate Management has been lethargic especially with respect to small and medium business enterprises in South Africa. Nevertheless, larger corporations have evaluated the impact of the HIVI AIDS epidemic in their individual companies that provide results on the magnitude of the epidemic on the corporate sector. A careful analysis of these results taking into account the nature of the business will allow for more realistic inferences of the skill demographic magnitude of the epidemic from which smaller companies that have not embarked on studies can have a platform to assess the potential magnitude of the disease and this forms the backbone of the disease. Once this is recognised and incorporated into the mindset of companies, then strategic decisions have to be taken to minimise the impact of the epidemic on the business functions to ensure firstly sustainability and then profitability. Recommendations are outlined in the study based on the experiences of the larger corporate players that have performed the appropriate analysis for this and the actions that have been instituted. Thereafter the thesis substantiates the need for implementing strategies to deal with HIVI AIDS and the goals that companies should aspire. Lastly, based on workplace programs that have already been successfully incorporated into companies, the analysis and the program implementation is outlined. / Thesis (MBA)-University of Natal, 2003.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is currently the most challenging public health matter that faces third world countries, especially those in Sub-Saharan Africa. Ethiopia, in East Africa, with a generalised and highly heterogeneous epidemic, is no exception, with HIV/AIDS affecting most sectors of the economy. The first case of HIV in Ethiopia was reported in 1984. Since then, HIV/AIDS has become a major public health con cern, leading the Government of Ethiopia to declare a public health emergency in 2002. In 2011, the adult HIV/AIDS prevalence in Ethiopia was estimated at 1.5%. Approximately 1.2 million Ethiopians were living with HIV/AIDS in 2010. Surveys are an important and popular tool for collecting data. Analytical use of survey data especially health survey data has become very common, with a focus on the association of particular outcome variables with explanatory variables at the population level. In this study we used the data from the 2005 Ethiopian Demographic and Health Survey, (EDHS 2005), and identified key demographic, socioeconomic, sociocultural, behavioral and proximate determinants of HIV/AIDS risk factor. Usually most survey analysts ignore the complex survey design issues like clustering, stratification and unequal probability of selection (weights). This study deals with complex survey design and takes the design aspect into account, because failure to do so leads to bias parameters estimates and standard error, wide confidence intervals and statistical tests will be incorrect. In this study, three statistical approaches were used to analyse the complex survey data. The first approach was a survey logistic regression used to model the binary outcome (HIV serostatus) and set of explanatory variables (the dependence of the HIV risk factors). The difference between survey logistic regression and the ordinary logistic regression is that survey logistic regression approach takes the study design into account during analysis. The second approach was a multilevel logistic regression model, that assumed that the data structure in the population was hierarchical, and that individual within household was selected from clusters that were randomly selected from a national sampling frame. We considered a three-level model for our analysis. This second approach considered the results from Frequentist and a Bayesian multilevel models. Bayesian methods can provide accurate estimates of the parameters and the uncertainty associated with them. The third approach used was a Spatial models approach where model parameters were estimated under the Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) paradigm. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.