Workplaces are required by law to provide HIV and AIDS workplace programmes to educate and prevent the spread of HIV, and stigmatisation and discrimination against workers infected or affected by HIV and AIDS. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in the public and private sector at Mt Fletcher in the Eastern Cape Province. It aimed at assessing the availability and implementation of HIV and AIDS workplace programmes at Mt Fletcher. The study’s objectives were: to assess knowledge of HIV and AIDS among employees; to determine the availability of HIV and AIDS psychosocial programmes; to assess the employees’ knowledge on HIV and AIDS workplace guidelines that prevent stigma and discrimination. This was a quantitative study. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. A total of 81 respondents from both public and private sectors participated in the study. Stratified random sampling was used to select participating workplaces. Simple random sampling was used to select respondents. The findings indicated that both public and private sector workplaces have HIV and AIDS programmes. However, all private sector workplaces at Mt Fletcher had no onsite clinic as required, but use the local public HIV and AIDS clinics. However, 24% of public and 23% of private sector employees had no knowledge of the existence of the HIV and AIDS programmes at their workplaces. About 13% of public and 10% of private sector employees indicated that stigmatisation and discrimination against people living with HIV and AIDS was a problem in the workplace. They also indicated that they would not disclose their HIV status to their employers because they were afraid of losing their jobs. The lack of disclosure further disadvantages workers living with HIV as they do not get the support they deserve from their employers. Furthermore, lack of support, stigma and discrimination have an impact on the performance and productivity of the infected and affected employees and therefore affecting the expected output of their workplaces.

Class of 2006 Abstract / Objectives: The HIV/AIDS Awareness series aims to broaden the College of Pharmacy’s impact and service to the community by educating and increasing awareness about the many facets of HIV/AIDS not only locally, but also globally. Our innovative educational series entitled “AIDS Awareness Week,” will enable many students and faculty to come together to learn in a community forum setting. Our purpose is to describe the general activities included in the Week, as well as to describe the general reaction to the program. Methods: A questionnaire was developed and administered every day of the week long series from November 28 – December 1 2005 at the University of Arizona, College of Pharmacy. Results: Data was utilized for a total of 222 participants to the 2005 AIDS Awareness Week educational series. Of the 222, 41.4% (n=92) were male, and 59% (n=130) were female. The following faculties were represented during the week; College of Pharmacy 72.5% (n=161), the College of Nursing 14% (n=30), the College of Medicine 7.2% (n=16), the College of Public Health 1.4% (n=3), and those from “other” programs at 1.4% (n=3). Of those in attendance, 94% (n=209) were students, 2.3% (n=5) were faculty, 2.3% (n=5) fell into the “other” category, and 1.4% (n=3) were health professionals. Of significance was the number of “return” participants to the different 2005 educational series. The number of “return participants” was as follows: On day 2, 63.3% (n=38) of the 60 in attendance had been to the previous day. On day 3, 48% (n=30) of 63 participants had been to Day 1, and 62% (n=39) had also attended Day 2. On Day 4, 52% (n=26) of the 50 in attendance had attended Day1, 58% (n=29) for Day 2, and 44% (n=22) for Day 3. Implications: Overall, the series went very well and attendance was high. Positive feedback regarding the events was taken via anecdotal comments and that people returned to each session. This program is easily duplicated and can be used as a template in any university setting to promote awareness of sensitive subjects as well as foster community learning and relationships between the professions. It is hoped that this educational series will aid in bridging the gap within healthcare professionals, as well as provide an open forum for students from different backgrounds to come and learn the information together.

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Education in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at the University of Zululand, 2010. / This study sets out to establish the level of awareness and perception of preventive strategies against HIV/AIDS in two African Universities, Zululand (South Africa) and Ado-Ekiti (Nigeria). Responses to a questionnaire set out in nine sections (125 items) from one thousand four hundred and sixty participants (604 from UNAD; 856 from UNIZULU) were analysed for their socio-demography, sexual activities, awareness, assessment of factors that support spread of HIV/AIDS on campus, risk assessment of students, knowledge of HIV transmission and protection, and perception of preventive strategies. One section also covered the assessment of institutional programmes on HIV/AIDS. The socio-demography revealed that though the two institutions are located in relatively rural/remote places, the socio-economic status were completely different. While UNIZULU respondents were predominantly from rural areas, and from poor families, UNAD respondents were predominantly from middle/high class homes drawn from cities and big towns. The pattern of their sexual activities was also different. While a small, but higher, percentage of UNAD’s respondents have been sexually active from elementary schools, the majority of respondents from UNIZULU have been sexually active from high school with a large proportion being single parents. Most of UNAD’s respondents became sexually active in the university although a small percentage was sexually active when they were in the primary school. Institutional support was much better at UNIZULU though both institutions enjoyed adequate awareness of HIV. However, UNIZULU has facilities for testing and counselling, which was not available at UNAD. UNAD respondents did not have adequate access to male condoms whereas UNIZULU did, but both institutions did not have adequate access to female condoms. Core risk factors common to both institutions are irregular and inconsistent use of condoms, not knowing the HIV status of their partners and of themselves, multiple and concurrent sexual activities, intergenerational relationships cloaked in sex-for-money or favour trade, and having sex under the influence of alcohol or drug. While risky sexual activities were driven mainly by gender, and to a smaller proportion by marital status, number of children, where grown up and family resources, the factors that drive risk at UNIZULU were more complex and included gender, age, marital status, number of children and level of study. Indeed there was evidence that UNIZULU respondents appeared to be more sexually risky as the level of study increased while UNAD’s appeared to be less risky. Recommendations are put forward for the possible use results of this study could be put to make African university campuses sexually safe. / the University of Zululand

<p>It is important to investigate how HIV/AIDS  awareness affects adolescent sexual behavior and how the HIV/AIDS information from the schools and the ABC-program (abstinence, be faithful, condoms) affects the students HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual behavior. The methods used in this study consist of qualitative semi-structured interviews, a quantitative questionnaire and statistical analysis (mainly preformed in R). The purpose of this study is to analyze how sexual behavior can be affected by HIV/AIDS awareness. The results from the interviews and the questionnaire were very different. Especially when it comes to the (age of first intercourse), information from the interviews gave the impression of a younger age at first intercourse than the results from the questionnaire did. No evidence was found that adolescent sexual behavior is affected by HIV/AIDS awareness.</p><p>In the context of the ABC-program, the students were not found to be abstinent; due to school regulations that consent to the expulsion of sexually active students it is even possible that the students stated a higher (age of first sexual intercourse) than what is really true. One of the informants stated that some students are as young as eight years of age when they have their first sexual experience (informant 7). The majority of the male students answered that the age of first intercourse is about 15 to 16 years of age and the majority of the female students stated 17-18 years of age or older (table 3, question 8). No evidence in this study supports the hypothesis that adolescent sexual behavior is affected by access to condoms. Condom access did not lead to an increase of the occurrence of sexual relationships nor did it seem to cause a lower age of first intercourse. This was the results that derived form four generalized models that were preformed in the statistics program R (table 4). There seemed to be a notion from some of the informants that the most adolescents are sexually active and the schools reluctance against promoting condoms may lead to the spread of STI’s amongst the students and to unwanted teenage pregnancies. Condoms should be provided for free to all students in secondary schools.</p>

It is important to investigate how HIV/AIDS  awareness affects adolescent sexual behavior and how the HIV/AIDS information from the schools and the ABC-program (abstinence, be faithful, condoms) affects the students HIV/AIDS awareness and sexual behavior. The methods used in this study consist of qualitative semi-structured interviews, a quantitative questionnaire and statistical analysis (mainly preformed in R). The purpose of this study is to analyze how sexual behavior can be affected by HIV/AIDS awareness. The results from the interviews and the questionnaire were very different. Especially when it comes to the (age of first intercourse), information from the interviews gave the impression of a younger age at first intercourse than the results from the questionnaire did. No evidence was found that adolescent sexual behavior is affected by HIV/AIDS awareness. In the context of the ABC-program, the students were not found to be abstinent; due to school regulations that consent to the expulsion of sexually active students it is even possible that the students stated a higher (age of first sexual intercourse) than what is really true. One of the informants stated that some students are as young as eight years of age when they have their first sexual experience (informant 7). The majority of the male students answered that the age of first intercourse is about 15 to 16 years of age and the majority of the female students stated 17-18 years of age or older (table 3, question 8). No evidence in this study supports the hypothesis that adolescent sexual behavior is affected by access to condoms. Condom access did not lead to an increase of the occurrence of sexual relationships nor did it seem to cause a lower age of first intercourse. This was the results that derived form four generalized models that were preformed in the statistics program R (table 4). There seemed to be a notion from some of the informants that the most adolescents are sexually active and the schools reluctance against promoting condoms may lead to the spread of STI’s amongst the students and to unwanted teenage pregnancies. Condoms should be provided for free to all students in secondary schools.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / There are number of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in South Africa that use sport as a tool to respond to HIV/AIDS mainly among young people, however, little is reported about the outcomes and impact of these programmes. The aim of this study is to contribute to a generic monitoring and evaluation framework by improving the options for the use of outcome indicators of sport-based HIV/AIDS awareness programmes of selected NGOs in South Africa. The research followed a qualitative multiple case study design using multiple data collection instruments. The overall findings revealed that the sport-based HIV/AIDS awareness programmes of five selected NGOs examined in this study focus on similar HIV prevention messages within the key priorities highlighted in the current National Strategic Plan for HIV/AIDS, STIs and TB of South Africa. The HIV prevention messages of selected NGOs are also in line with the commitments and targets of the 2011 UN Political Declaration on HIV/AIDS. The sport-based HIV/AIDS programmes target youth with messages that raise awareness of HIV/AIDS, HIV risk behaviours and HIV stigma. Furthermore messages that promote uptake of health services such as HIV Counselling and Testing (HCT) and Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision (VMMC). However, evaluating outcomes and impact of such programmes remains a challenge. Descriptive information and outputs are more recorded rather than information about the actual outcomes which occurred as a result of sport-based HIV/AIDS awareness programmes. The use of multiple data collection instruments in conjunction with approaches of the ten-step model to a result-based monitoring and evaluation systems enables this study to propose a total of fifty one generic outcome indicators. These generic outcome indicators focus on measuring change in the knowledge of HIV/AIDS and change in attitude and intention towards HIV risk behaviours. In addition, this study further proposed a total of eight generic outcome indicators to measurepredictors of HIV risk behaviour. The selected NGOs can adapt the proposed generic outcomes and indicators based on the settings of their programmes. It can be concluded that the proposed generic outcome indicators are able to assist the NGOs to improve monitoring and evaluation of their sport-based HIV/AIDS awareness programmes. A collaborative approach by all stakeholders is required, from international organisations, funders, governments, NGOs and communities to strengthening monitoring and evaluation of sport-based HIV/AIDS awareness programmes including other development programmes.

Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / The study explored the efficacy of radio programs as a strategy for adult education for HIV/AIDS awareness intervention in the Livingstone District Zambia. Data was collected through a review of policies, including the HIV/AIDS/STI/TB Policy Guidelines (2008), National HIV and AIDS Strategic Framework (NASF2006-2010), PMTCT guidelines on HIV Prevention (2008), Zambia Information and Communication Policy (2007) and the Communication and Advocacy Strategy (NACAS, 2004). In addition semi-structured interviews were conducted with adults and young adults aged 23 to 58 years in Maramba catchment area. The research revealed that overall, there is a mixed picture of effectiveness of the use of radio for educating adults on HIV/AIDS prevention. Some of the most important factors that enable the effective use of radio in education of adults include sharing of experiences which result in increased understanding of issues among community members, community participation in radio listening groups also results in further sharing of information and active engagement with other community members on the topic of discussion and the use of local languages with the use of simple words and visual aids to take account of low literacy levels. In addition, there were important set of factors related to economic, social and cultural issues including gender inequalities, poverty and unemployment to mention a few. My research has identified the need to give greater consideration to adult education theory and adult learning principles in the design and delivery of the radio education programs. The research suggests that HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention strategies need an approach which takes account of adult education theory – to promote active involvement of learners in developing the curriculum of the radio programs and involvement of a range of stakeholders in designing and delivering the radio programs. My research also suggests that there is a need to adopt a critical perspective on the social, cultural and religious practices which influence the participation of both women and men in radio education programmes for HIV/AIDS prevention.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how school principals understand HIV/AIDS and how their knowledge, attitude and interpretation filter in the implementation of the HIV policy in schools. The study comprises a literature review and empirical investigation. The results of this study can be used in planning and implementing HIV policy in schools. The data were collected by administering semi-structured interviews. Ten school principals from the Dennilton circuit in Southern Region of the Limpopo Province were interviewed. The results show that the majority of the principals involved in the study confirm that HIV/AIDS is an incurable disease caused by a virus and is mainly sexually transmitted. Some principals regard their school safe from HIV infection. Their assumption is based on the absence of HIV positive learners and educators in their schools. The principals are aware of the rights of HIV positive learners and educators. Significantly, the research findings indicate that the majority of schools lack educators with HIV/AIDS training, rules on safety precautions and first aid kits. It is recommended that ongoing HIV/AIDS training programmes be provided for educators to enable them to educate the youth on HIV/AIDS. Additionally, schools should focus on strategies to implement universal safety precautions against HIV transmission and to obtain first aid kits. Lastly, school principals should involve parents and other stakeholders in creating a positive school environment for HIV positive learners and educators. / Dissertation (MEd (Education Management))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

<p>The devastation caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is having a major impact on both the social and economic environment in South Africa. HIV/AIDS hits at the core of the businesses structure - the bottom line. In the absence of a cure for the disease or an effective vaccine, the challenge for all the stakeholders is how to successfully contain and limit the impact of the disease. Intervention programmes such as awareness, knowledge sharing and sero-prevailance testing have the potential to limit HIV/AIDS infections and reduce high-risk behaviours. Whilst education and awareness programmes have been relatively successful in highlighting the dangers of HIV infection, perception, attitudes and behaviours of employees towards HIV/AIDS have dampened voluntary HIV screening initiatives. Many South African organisations have commendable HIV/AIDS education and awareness programmes, however, a concerning fact is that employees are reluctant to avail themselves to voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. Stigmatising attitudes toward persons living with HIV/AIDS may reduce people&rsquo / s willingness to have themselves tested for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This may increase the risk of transmission. It may also lead to increased absenteeism in the workplace, and workdays lost resulting from excessive sick.<br /> <br /> The aim of the study was to establish what the perceptions and attitudes are of employees at different levels of the organisation with regard to HIV/AIDS testing. A further aim was to identify possible reasons for the poor employee response to voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. It was thus important for this research to gauge employee knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward HIV/AIDS in order for organisations to develop strategies for effective HIV/AIDS counselling and testing programmes.<br /> <br /> The data for this study was collected by means of a self report questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of employees across all levels of the organisation using the convenient sample approach to identify the respondents. Two hundred and forty six (246) out of a total of 600 questionnaires distributed were returned, making the response rate a credible 41%.<br /> The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse the data obtained from the questionnaire. Both inferential and descriptive statistical approaches were used to analyse the data. The Analyses Of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether differences exist in the perceptions and attitudes of employees at different levels and groupings in the organisation. Additionally post hoc tests (i.e. the Scheffe test) were applied to all comparisons of means after the analysis of variance.<br /> <br /> The findings of this research are important for the role of HIV/AIDS testing and awareness/preventions strategies implemented in South Africa. It provides more insight as to why employees resist HIV/AIDS testing. It can furthermore assist organisations in developing strategies for implementing effective HIV/AIDS awareness and/or prevention programmes. More specifically, the findings identified ways in which organisations can redesign their intervention programmes so as to encourage a greater number of employees to submit to voluntary HIV/AIDS testing.</p>

<p>The devastation caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is having a major impact on both the social and economic environment in South Africa. HIV/AIDS hits at the core of the businesses structure - the bottom line. In the absence of a cure for the disease or an effective vaccine, the challenge for all the stakeholders is how to successfully contain and limit the impact of the disease. Intervention programmes such as awareness, knowledge sharing and sero-prevailance testing have the potential to limit HIV/AIDS infections and reduce high-risk behaviours. Whilst education and awareness programmes have been relatively successful in highlighting the dangers of HIV infection, perception, attitudes and behaviours of employees towards HIV/AIDS have dampened voluntary HIV screening initiatives. Many South African organisations have commendable HIV/AIDS education and awareness programmes, however, a concerning fact is that employees are reluctant to avail themselves to voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. Stigmatising attitudes toward persons living with HIV/AIDS may reduce people&rsquo / s willingness to have themselves tested for the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). This may increase the risk of transmission. It may also lead to increased absenteeism in the workplace, and workdays lost resulting from excessive sick.<br /> <br /> The aim of the study was to establish what the perceptions and attitudes are of employees at different levels of the organisation with regard to HIV/AIDS testing. A further aim was to identify possible reasons for the poor employee response to voluntary HIV/AIDS testing. It was thus important for this research to gauge employee knowledge, attitude and behaviour toward HIV/AIDS in order for organisations to develop strategies for effective HIV/AIDS counselling and testing programmes.<br /> <br /> The data for this study was collected by means of a self report questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of employees across all levels of the organisation using the convenient sample approach to identify the respondents. Two hundred and forty six (246) out of a total of 600 questionnaires distributed were returned, making the response rate a credible 41%.<br /> The Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) was used to analyse the data obtained from the questionnaire. Both inferential and descriptive statistical approaches were used to analyse the data. The Analyses Of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine whether differences exist in the perceptions and attitudes of employees at different levels and groupings in the organisation. Additionally post hoc tests (i.e. the Scheffe test) were applied to all comparisons of means after the analysis of variance.<br /> <br /> The findings of this research are important for the role of HIV/AIDS testing and awareness/preventions strategies implemented in South Africa. It provides more insight as to why employees resist HIV/AIDS testing. It can furthermore assist organisations in developing strategies for implementing effective HIV/AIDS awareness and/or prevention programmes. More specifically, the findings identified ways in which organisations can redesign their intervention programmes so as to encourage a greater number of employees to submit to voluntary HIV/AIDS testing.</p>