While black women have historically addressed issues of social injustice in the black community, their leadership in the fight against HIV/AIDS has been largely overlooked. HIV/AIDS is a leading health disparity for black women ages 25 to 44. While other populations have seen a decline in their rates of infection since the early 1990s, the rates of infection for black women have consistently increased (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). Black women’s leadership in HIV/AIDS community work has been understudied as a viable means of engagement in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The intersection of race and gender, as described in black feminist thought. may influence black women’s leadership development and how they impact certain social issues such as HIV/AIDS. This exploratory research study includes a snowball sampling of black women leaders involved in HIV/AIDS community work. Through semi-structured interviews the researcher gained insightful knowledge about how black women experience leadership in their HIV/AIDS work in the face of the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic amongst black women. The results add to contemporary descriptions of leadership, place black women’s leadership in its historical context, and helps us to better understand how gender and race impact leadership.

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Purpose: To understand through explorations of the experiences of HIV positive individuals whether these individuals experience stigma in relation to HIV/AIDS and how it has impacted their lives and that of their families. Design: Qualitative study used ethnographic techniques (interviews, questionnaires, informal conversations, observation, field notes) to collect data over a four-month period. Setting: Data was collected from nine districts in the northern, central, and southern regions of the state of Kerala, India. Participants: Shared their perspectives on HIV related stigma (n=49 total). Of the 38 participants interviewed, 12 were HIV positives, 19 were HIV positives who also worked or volunteered with HIV positive networks (known as positive speakers), 2 were caregivers of HIV positives, and 5 were key informants involved with community organizations providing services to HIV positives. Informal conversations with 11 unaffected were also utilized. Findings were organized into four themes. (1) Anti-stigma/prevention strategies such as positive living and positive speaking offered positive speakers unique challenges and opportunities as they were called upon to be the face and voice of HIV (2) Contrary to expectations that formal education which also included awareness about HIV could increase one’s knowledge and subsequently dispel ignorance and stigma, the findings pointed out how knowledge itself is a resource that allowed stigma to unfold along existing social hierarchies. (3) Unconscious prejudices about physical appearances influenced perceptions of HIV risk, and a stigmatized identity waxed and waned with a change in physical appearance as the HIV positive oscillated between illness and health. (4) “Immoral behaviour” as the cause of HIV infection entered into family/caregiver decisions regarding the use of family resources for the treatment and care of the HIV positive member. Gender and social class also impinged on family decisions in numerous ways. Conclusions: This research project has highlighted the need to develop a more nuanced understanding of HIV related stigma that extends beyond the current conceptualization of stigma as “ignorance” or lack of awareness about modes of HIV transmission. Refining current understandings of HIV related stigma could guide research, policy, and practice.

Purpose: To understand through explorations of the experiences of HIV positive individuals whether these individuals experience stigma in relation to HIV/AIDS and how it has impacted their lives and that of their families. Design: Qualitative study used ethnographic techniques (interviews, questionnaires, informal conversations, observation, field notes) to collect data over a four-month period. Setting: Data was collected from nine districts in the northern, central, and southern regions of the state of Kerala, India. Participants: Shared their perspectives on HIV related stigma (n=49 total). Of the 38 participants interviewed, 12 were HIV positives, 19 were HIV positives who also worked or volunteered with HIV positive networks (known as positive speakers), 2 were caregivers of HIV positives, and 5 were key informants involved with community organizations providing services to HIV positives. Informal conversations with 11 unaffected were also utilized. Findings were organized into four themes. (1) Anti-stigma/prevention strategies such as positive living and positive speaking offered positive speakers unique challenges and opportunities as they were called upon to be the face and voice of HIV (2) Contrary to expectations that formal education which also included awareness about HIV could increase one’s knowledge and subsequently dispel ignorance and stigma, the findings pointed out how knowledge itself is a resource that allowed stigma to unfold along existing social hierarchies. (3) Unconscious prejudices about physical appearances influenced perceptions of HIV risk, and a stigmatized identity waxed and waned with a change in physical appearance as the HIV positive oscillated between illness and health. (4) “Immoral behaviour” as the cause of HIV infection entered into family/caregiver decisions regarding the use of family resources for the treatment and care of the HIV positive member. Gender and social class also impinged on family decisions in numerous ways. Conclusions: This research project has highlighted the need to develop a more nuanced understanding of HIV related stigma that extends beyond the current conceptualization of stigma as “ignorance” or lack of awareness about modes of HIV transmission. Refining current understandings of HIV related stigma could guide research, policy, and practice.

This thesis addresses two important topics in HIV-1 medicine; (i) the clinical relevance of pre-treatment G-A hypermutation and the contribution of host and viral genetics to its development and; (ii) the influence of genetic variation in host enzymes responsible for antiretroviral drug metabolism on response to therapy. These themes are outlined below. HIV-1 Hypermutation At present, limited data exists regarding the relative roles of host encoded cytidine deaminases APOBEC3G and APOBEC3F in promoting G-A hypermutation of HIV-1 proviral DNA in vivo, nor the clinical relevance of hypermutation or the influence of genetic diversity of the APOBEC3G locus and of the viral encoded vif protein that counteracts the action of APOBEC3G. The analyses contained within this thesis demonstrate that within the WA HIV cohort, clinically relevant hypermutation is restricted to a minority of individuals and is mediated predominantly by APOBEC3G. In this study, the presence of HIV-1 hypermutation had a substantially greater effect on plasma viremia than other known host antiviral factors such as CCR5D32 or specific HLA-B alleles. Furthermore, the considerable genetic diversity of the vif gene is likely to make a greater contribution to the development of hypermutation than the limited genetic diversity of the APOBEC3G gene in Caucasians. These data indicate that G-A hypermutation is a clinically relevant phenomenon and may provide a fresh perspective to the area of HIV/AIDS therapies. Genetic Determinant of HIV-1 Treatment Response Thymidine kinase 2 (TK2) and thymidylate kinase (dTMPK) are rate limiting enzymes for the metabolism of the antiretrovirals d4T and AZT, respectively, and are thus central to the antiviral efficacy and toxicity of these agents. However, the genetic diversity of TK2 and dTMPK and their influence on toxicities associated with their use is largely unknown. The results discussed in this thesis indicate that in contrast to the highly conserved TK2 locus, the dTMPK locus of Caucasian individuals, including regulatory regions potentially influencing transcription and translation, is considerably polymorphic and organised into five common haplotypes. The results regarding the contribution of dTMPK genetic variation to toxicities associated with AZT therapy are encouraging. A common dTMPK haplotype had significant, albeit modest, effect on haematological parameters (haemoglobin and mean corpuscular volume) in HIV-infected patients, although no AZT-specific treatment effect was observed in this relatively haematologically stable cohort. In addition, another common dTMPK haplotype provided significant protection against AZT-induced adipocyte mtDNA depletion in a pilot study of AZT- and d4T-treated individuals. The dTMPK haplotypes characterised in this thesis should facilitate further studies regarding dTMPK genetic variation in HIV-1 infection and response to treatment, which are warranted from the clinical results presented herein.

Thesis (MPsych.(Department of Psychology))--University of the Western Cape, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.(leaves 99-105).

Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2031-01-02

Magister Artium - MA / This study is a descriptive study and describes the effects of religious beliefs and stigma toward people living with HIV/AIDS. The religions looked at were Islam, Christianity and Hinduism and it was conducted in the community of Cravenby, situated in Cape Town. Its objectives were to investigate; how religion affected people’s attitudes to HIV/AIDS within Cravenby; to investigate how religious beliefs may lead to stigma; does religion allow an individual to disclose his or her HIV status if they are HIV positive; how religion may affect one’s sexual behaviour and how much is known about HIV by people living in Cravenby. The study employed qualitative research methods and the method of data collection was implemented through the use of in depth interviews with community residents. Content analysis was used to analyse the data, with findings showing that those living with HIV/AIDS deserved to be treated with respect and empathy. Respondent's knowledge and awareness of HIV/AIDS was very good and showed that few people have not heard about HIV/AIDS. Stigma is defined as an attribute that is significantly discrediting and is used to set an affected person or group apart from a normalized social order and the use of such separation implies devaluation. Religiously based stigma towards those living with HIV/AIDS arose from people’s personal beliefs and justification because they did not adhere to religious teachings and injunctions. Respondents saw religion as serving to promote cleanliness, marital harmony and respecting one's self and towards others. Biographical disruption implies that a person’s stock of knowledge of their selves and social world are disrupted by the experience of illness and suggests that explanatory frameworks normally used to understand daily life are disrupted. The study recommends having a joint forum which is attended by Muslims, Christians and Hindus discussing HIV/AIDS would help to address incorrect and or incomplete knowledge and beliefs around HIV/AIDS in the community.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-12T23:14:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 arquivo4237_1.pdf: 706173 bytes, checksum: 0a80ff1a852fbe51d63316c5be96f4e7 (MD5) license.txt: 1748 bytes, checksum: 8a4605be74aa9ea9d79846c1fba20a33 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Este trabalho analisa o papel das redes sociais na organização da solidariedade em relação às pessoas soropositivas e com AIDS. O objetivo central desse estudo consistiu em analisar os padrões de laços que unem as pessoas que vivem com o HIV e/ou AIDS e mostrar as implicações de suas redes de relações sociais significativas, ativadas no enfrentamento do HIV/AIDS, na estruturação de ações coletivas e organizadas, como respostas à epidemia da AIDS, e no surgimento de identidades coletivas, elemento fundamental para a articulação dos portadores nas esferas públicas de sociabilidade. Trata-se de uma pesquisa exploratória e descritiva, de caráter qualitativo, realizada com doze sujeitos, homens e mulheres, adultos, que são assistidos na delegacia de saúde da Praia, em Cabo Verde, arquipélago localizado no oceano atlântico a 450 km da costa ocidental do continente africano. O estudo mostrou que não obstante em Cabo Verde existam experiências de organização em rede, tanto a nível das organizações da sociedade civil, quanto a nível da cooperação internacional, que moldam e condicionam a forma através da qual a sociedade cabo-verdiana tem respondido à epidemia do HIV/AIDS, a organização das pessoas portadoras do HIV/AIDS em rede constitui umas das fraquezas das respostas não governamentais e comunitárias à AIDS, em Cabo Verde. A reconstituição das redes egocentradas dos sujeitos entrevistados evidencia estruturas de redes com baixo potencial de organização e estruturação de ações coletivas

Magister Public Health - MPH / Namibia is one of the countries in the world most affected by HIV/AIDS with the national prevalence of 18.8% in 2010. In 2010, it was reported that an estimated 180,000 Namibians were living with HIV/AIDS; of which 95,000 adult women, 69,000 adult men and 16,000 children. An estimated 6,700 deaths was recorded in 2009 with an estimated number of 70,000 orphans due to the disease. The introduction of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in public health facilities in Namibia in 2003 has improved the quality of lives of patients with advanced HIV disease, prolonged their lives and enabled them to be economically productive. By 2010 about 90,000 patients were enrolled on ART program in all 34 district hospitals and 3 intermediate referrer hospitals. Adherence to antiretroviral therapy is a key attribute of clinical HIV care and the overall determining factor in gauging the effectiveness of treatment. Good adherence to ART is vital to sustain low viral loads and prevent the development of drug resistant HIV strains. Although the patient retention rate on ART at the Katima Mulilo Hospital was 98.3%, with increased patient uptake to the program in future, there is a need to be aware of factors that influence adherence to ART as such findings could inform the expanded ART program in Caprivi region. An explorative, qualitative study was conducted where in-depth interviews were conducted with 24 ART patients and key informants interviews with 2 health workers. Data were audiotape recorded and transcribed verbatim. Thematic and content analysis of transcribed data was performed.