The prevalence of HIV infection in pregnant women is still on the rise despite existing preventive programmes aimed at reducing HIV-transmission. Voluntary counselling and testing during pregnancy is the key entry point in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (Department of Health, 2000:16; Birdsall et al. 2004:3). Women are often diagnosed as being HIV-positive for the first time when they attend antenatal clinics and consent to HIV testing (UNAIDS, 1997). The objective of this study was to determine the pregnant women's experiences of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and to explore and describe the impeding and facilitating factors that played a role in their choice whether or not to consent to HIV testing after having received pre-test counselling. By understanding the impeding and facilitating factors that play a role in the pregnant woman's choice to undergo HIV testing, recommendations could be made to possibly improve the uptake of HIV testing among pregnant women. The population studied in this research consisted of pregnant women making use of antenatal clinics in the Potchefstroom sub-district. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of mediators who were working in the local clinics and the hospital. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 10 interviews. A qualitative design was used and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub-themes. The main themes are the facilitating and impeding factors that play a role in the pregnant women's choice to undergo HIV testing. Based on findings, it was concluded that facilitating and impeding factors that play a role in the pregnant woman's choice to HIV testing do indeed exist. Impeding factors identified were: fear of a positive status; fear of stigmatization and discrimination; fear of lack of support; lack of opportunity to consider their choice to undergo HIV testing; lack of trust that confidentiality will indeed be honoured; fear of knowing possible positive HIV-status that can lead to feelings of depression and mental anguish; differences between counsellors' and pregnant women's characteristics. Facilitating factors consist of the desire to be aware of own HIV status; desire to protect the baby; sufficient information and the importance of trust and confidentiality. Recommendations were subsequently made to make HIV counselling and testing services to pregnant women more user-friendly in order to facilitate the pregnant woman in her choice concerning HIV-testing. Heeding these recommendations will possibly lead to more pregnant women's HIV status being known by the time they go into labour. Recommendations were made that pregnant women be counselled for HIV testing during their first antenatal visit and the HIV-testing being offered to them during the second visit. Research findings reveal that most pregnant women need time to consider their choice to undergo HIV testing and to prepare themselves for the test. Most pregnant women felt that they would possibly consent to HIV testing during their second antenatal visit. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

<p><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3"> <p align="left">The aim of the study is to explore the barriers associated with low VCT uptake by the TB patients attending primary health care clinics within the Buffalo City municipality. <font face="Times New Roman" size="3"><font face="Times New Roman" size="3">The study population was drawn from TB patients attending the primary health care facilities in Buffalo city municipality in the Eastern Cape Province. Eight participants were purposively selected to include those who had accepted VCT as well as those who did not.</font></font></p> </font></font></p>

<p>This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices about MC as an HIV prevention intervention among adult males presenting for HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services at Onandjokwe District Hospital in northern Namibia. A high level of knowledge of MC, particularly its potential to reduce the risk of HIV infection, STIs and enhance penile hygiene exists among VCT attendees in Onandjokwe District Hospital. MC will most likely to be accepted in this study area, especially when it is implemented to reduce the risk of HIV infection. The study recommends a comprehensive education and information program targeting males and their partners and a training for traditional and medical circumcisers to ensure a high quality of MC services.</p>

The prevalence of HIV infection in pregnant women is still on the rise despite existing preventive programmes aimed at reducing HIV-transmission. Voluntary counselling and testing during pregnancy is the key entry point in the prevention of mother-to-child transmission (Department of Health, 2000:16; Birdsall et al. 2004:3). Women are often diagnosed as being HIV-positive for the first time when they attend antenatal clinics and consent to HIV testing (UNAIDS, 1997). The objective of this study was to determine the pregnant women's experiences of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) and to explore and describe the impeding and facilitating factors that played a role in their choice whether or not to consent to HIV testing after having received pre-test counselling. By understanding the impeding and facilitating factors that play a role in the pregnant woman's choice to undergo HIV testing, recommendations could be made to possibly improve the uptake of HIV testing among pregnant women. The population studied in this research consisted of pregnant women making use of antenatal clinics in the Potchefstroom sub-district. Purposive sampling was used to select participants with the assistance of mediators who were working in the local clinics and the hospital. The sample size was determined by data saturation, which was reached after 10 interviews. A qualitative design was used and data was collected by means of semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was carried out simultaneously with data collection. In consensus discussions, the researcher and the co-coder reached consensus on the main and sub-themes. The main themes are the facilitating and impeding factors that play a role in the pregnant women's choice to undergo HIV testing. Based on findings, it was concluded that facilitating and impeding factors that play a role in the pregnant woman's choice to HIV testing do indeed exist. Impeding factors identified were: fear of a positive status; fear of stigmatization and discrimination; fear of lack of support; lack of opportunity to consider their choice to undergo HIV testing; lack of trust that confidentiality will indeed be honoured; fear of knowing possible positive HIV-status that can lead to feelings of depression and mental anguish; differences between counsellors' and pregnant women's characteristics. Facilitating factors consist of the desire to be aware of own HIV status; desire to protect the baby; sufficient information and the importance of trust and confidentiality. Recommendations were subsequently made to make HIV counselling and testing services to pregnant women more user-friendly in order to facilitate the pregnant woman in her choice concerning HIV-testing. Heeding these recommendations will possibly lead to more pregnant women's HIV status being known by the time they go into labour. Recommendations were made that pregnant women be counselled for HIV testing during their first antenatal visit and the HIV-testing being offered to them during the second visit. Research findings reveal that most pregnant women need time to consider their choice to undergo HIV testing and to prepare themselves for the test. Most pregnant women felt that they would possibly consent to HIV testing during their second antenatal visit. / Thesis (M.Cur.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Magister Public Health - MPH / This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes and practices about MC as an HIV prevention intervention among adult males presenting for HIV Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) services at Onandjokwe District Hospital in northern Namibia. A high level of knowledge of MC, particularly its potential to reduce the risk of HIV infection, STIs and enhance penile hygiene exists among VCT attendees in Onandjokwe District Hospital. MC will most likely to be accepted in this study area, especially when it is implemented to reduce the risk of HIV infection. The study recommends a comprehensive education and information program targeting males and their partners and a training for traditional and medical circumcisers to ensure a high quality of MC services. / South Africa

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The HIV/AIDS epidemic remains an unbeaten challenge that affects all parts of the global population. Since the identification of the epidemic in the early 1980s, nearly 58 million people have become infected with the virus and 25 million people have died of HIV-related complications. This study aimed to elucidate individual and community level factors associated with the uptake of antenatal care (ANC), health facility delivery, HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT), and Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services by implementing a hierarchical (multilevel) methodological approach. This study used a cross-sectional, multistage sampling design in which health facilities were first selected (stage 1), followed by recruitment of post-partum women who came for child immunization from each health facility (stage 2), in Tigray region. Structured interview guides were developed for interviews. Four-fifths (80.0%) of mothers used antenatal services at least once during their most recent pregnancy and of these 74.6% of women accessed HCT. Sixty nine percent of women had delivered at a health facility, 79% of mothers and 55.7% of their children had received PMTCT services. Place of residence was significantly associated with ANC attendance and place of delivery, with women living in urban areas almost 2 times (OR=1.75, 95% CI 1.06, 2.92) more likely to deliver at a health facility. With the addition of one health facility per 25000 people, the likelihood of delivering at a health facility increased by 2.45 fold (OR=2.45, 95% CI 1.04, 5.78). Attending ANC (OR=4.54; 95%CI 2.82,7.33) and getting support from husband (OR=1.97; 95%CI 1.25,3.10) were significantly associated with HCT, at the individual level. At the community-level, for the addition iii of one health facility and HCT site for every 25000 people increase the likelihood of HCT utilization by 2.1 and 2.4 fold respectively. Mothers who delivered at a health facility were 18 times (OR=18.21; 95%CI 4.37,75.91) and children born at a health facility were 5 times (OR=4.77; 95%CI 1.21,18.83) more likely to receive PMTCT services, compared to mothers delivering at home. With the addition of one nurse per 1500 people, the likelihood of getting PMTCT services for a mother increases by 7.22 fold (OR=7.22; 95% CI 1.02,51.26). Community-level random-effects were also significant and there was confirmation of nesting at the community-level even after controlling for individual and communitylevel variables. Findings also showed that HCT utilization was nested according to district of residence, contributing 11.3% of the variance. In addition, the variation of mothers getting PMTCT services between districts was only 0.6%, but was 27.2% for children. Conclusion: Factors influencing utilization of maternal health services work at different levels, individual and community. Hierarchical models reveal these differences in ways that single-level (individual or community) models do not. Interventions are needed to increase spouse involvement in ANC utilization, and explore effective ways of increasing health facility delivery among poor women with little formal education in rural areas and increasing the number of health facility per people are important. The government should focus on increasing ANC access, educating couples on the importance of health services utilization, increasing the number of health facilities and HCT sites per population to improve HCT utilization. In addition to these, programmes should focus on increasing health facility delivery, training traditional birth attendants to understand the need for PMTCT and increasing iv HCT coverage to advance getting PMTCT services for mothers at the individual level and for children at both individual and community level. Permission to conduct the study was granted from the Ethics Committee of the University of the Western Cape and from Tigray Region Health Bureau. Verbal informed consent was obtained from each participant in the health facility based interview.

Magister Artium - MA / Despite wide acceptance of Voluntary Counselling and Testing (VCT) as a crucial entry point for the prevention, treatment, care and support of HIV-infected persons; the prevalence of testing in Ethiopia remains very low. A review of the literature identifies the set of factors that influence HIV testing of individuals to include socio-economic and demographic factors, knowledge of HIV/AIDS, risk perception, fear of stigma, social capital and the perceived benefit of VCT. By drawing assumptions based on the known literature, this mini-thesis explores the relationship between VCT usage and the above factors in order to explain the status of HIV testing in Moher and Aklil district, Gurage Zone, Ethiopia. The study hopes to address the dearth of material on VCT and contribute to it in a non-clinical and rural context.

Mentoring as a process to develop and enhance the functioning of new members in organisations has become prominent in the last two decades. In various disciplines such as law, education and business, the implementation of mentoring processes and concepts have been embraced. With an estimated two-thirds of the population in sub-Saharan Africa living with HIV/AIDS, health care professionals seem to have also embraced the mentoring process and concepts. In this study the experiences of lay counsellors, referred to as Befrienders, in a mentoring programme were explored. In addition, the researcher sought to identify potential challenges that Befrienders experienced in the mentoring programme, how they understood the challenges and how these challenges were addressed. The researcher then explored the potential skills that may have been learned within the mentoring programme. The exploration also produced some ideas on how the mentoring programme could be improved. Furthermore, the study seems to have made a contribution to mentoring theory. In the study, a convenient sample of five formal interviews and two pilot interviews were conducted. The participants consisted of four students, and one staff member from the University of Pretoria. Participants were interviewed for 1½ hours using semi-structured, individual and face-to-face interviews. A thematic analysis was used to interpret the data and social constructionism was used as the theoretical framework to make sense of the findings. In the findings, five prominent themes were identified, namely: (i) Being mentored (Experiencing the programme), (ii) Interpersonal relationships (Experiencing others), (iii) A developing inner world (Experiencing the Self), (iv) Negotiating boundaries (Managing relationships), and (v) Other issues related to HIV/AIDS (Experiencing the context). It was found, among other things, that the Befrienders constructed their own understanding of the mentoring process, that they used the mentoring relationship with their supervisor to understand the clients, and that they developed new perspectives as they learned about themselves. Finally, as a result of being mentored and of the process of development, the Befrienders seemed to have developed a deeper desire to do more work in the HIV/AIDS context. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Psychology / unrestricted

Migrant workers in the Deciduous Fruit Industry are part of the marginalised communities in South Africa. They are often voiceless in the communities they find themselves. They are historically displaced, often prone to xenophobia and very vulnerable in terms of HIV. Not only do they have a high infection rate but they also struggle in isolation to carry the burden of HIV and AIDS affection or infection. They will face double jeopardy when a partner becomes ill, in the homeland and they have to continue with employment. The main aim of this research was to reach a holistic understanding through interdisciplinary investigation. The important question that I aim to answer is; “What is the experience of God in the lives of persons affected or infected by HIV and AIDS.” I have looked at Postfoundationalism and the Seven Movements as proposed by Muller to present the research undertaken among migrant workers with HIV and AIDS. The Practical Theology, which I explore, develops out of a very specific praxis, HIV and AIDS. I have also made used of Transversal Rationality as a practical way of doing interdisciplinary work with the stories of my co-researchers affected with HIV AIDS as a case study. I understand that Christian belief has its own integrity, which is exclusive, but if valid, is vital to be able to incorporate the different dimensions of our modern practise to give it the maximum level of meaning and significance. I hope to demonstrate this possibility through my thesis. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Practical Theology / unrestricted

In English / The purpose of this study was to establish factors affecting the participation of men working in the informal sector economy of South Africa in HIV counselling and testing (HCT) or voluntary counselling and testing (VCT). This includes the exploration of reasons for acceptance and non-acceptance of HIV testing, knowledge and perceptions about HIV testing and behaviours and attitudes towards HIV testing. Data was collected through a structured questionnaire and a sample of fifty (50) men was purposively selected. It was found that the reasons for acceptance of HIV testing are satisfactory and reasons for non-acceptance are still a concern, and that several issues such as education about HIV testing and HIV in general still need to be addressed. Most of the respondents had undergone testing for HIV, but there is still a stigma attached to HIV testing. / Sociology / M. A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)