Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 1996. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [158]-170).

Assignment (MCur)--University of Stellenbosch, 2008. / Bibliography. Also available via the Internet.

Thesis (MSD (Social Development and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drexel University, 2007. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-122).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 229-240).

M.A. / This study explores attitudes and fears of HIV counsellors towards HIV testing. A social constructionistic perspective was used to realize this objective. The researcher hoped to find out the following:  what attitudes and fears do HIV counselors( who have not tested for HIV), have towards HIV testing?  how the HIV counsellors’ attitudes and fears differ from those of the general population.  the environmental factors affecting their decision, their vulnerability to HIV and what can facilitate their willingness to test.  what strategies can be used (from the HIV counsellors’ point of view), to change those attitudes and alleviate those fears so that all HIV counsellors can be willing to undergo voluntary HIV testing. Tape recorded interviews were conducted with the HIV counsellors who have not tested for HIV. It was evident in the study that there are attitudes and fears towards HIV testing which are common to the HIV counselors and the general population, and those which are peculiar to HIV counselors because of the nature of their job. Also evident in the study is the fact that HIV counsellors are vulnerable to contracting HIV and therefore could reap the benefits of knowing their HIV status by undergoing the HIV test. The researcher together with the HIV counsellors co-designed strategies that will address those attitudes and fears so that HIV counsellors can be encouraged to undergo voluntary HIV testing. Since the study was conducted only in the community clinics, the findings cannot be generalized to all HIV counsellors. The recommendations based on the findings are that a similar study should be done and should cover a much wider and broader context to determine if such a study can yield similar results.

This research was conducted on a section of mine employees ranging from skilled to the least skilled mine workers in Goldfields Mine, Carltonville. The aim of the study was to assess HIV/AIDS employees’ perceptions of social work counselling services in the workplace. The researcher was employed at the Department of Social Services and Population Development where she attended weekly to HIV/AIDS employees who had been referred for treatment without providing any form of counselling within the workplace. Researcher’s subsequent research at Goldfields Mine was designed to probe what the affected employees’ perceptions of a social work counselling service was. The gathering of data during research comprised conducting interviews with the use of semi-structured interview schedules. Ten (10) male employees from Goldfields were used during the study. Purposive sampling was employed. Findings reveal that although counselling was provided at Goldfields Mine, Carltonville, a minority of employees indicated that the current counselling programme (workplace programme) is not adequate and that more time should be provided by management for counselling during working hours. / Dissertation (Magister Artium(Social Work))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Social Work and Criminology / unrestricted

The purpose of this three-paper dissertation is to address existing gaps in the literature by examining the intersections of gender-based violence (intimate and non-intimate partner) (GBV) among key-affected populations, defined as women engaged in sex trading in intimate relationships, HIV-positive women, and/or low-income, substance-involved women. This dissertation includes three papers that examine: 1) IPV and recent sex trading among a sample of substance-involved women in intimate sexual relationships in New York City; 2) the prevalence and correlates of GBV among a sample of HIV-positive women in Kazakhstan; and 3) the synergistic effects of IPV, HIV, and substance use on mental health (depression and suicidality) among a sample of high-risk women in relationships in Kazakhstan. This dissertation is guided by the ecological systems framework, intersectionality, and syndemic theory. Key findings from the dissertation highlight the pervasive nature of GBV among vulnerable women who engage in high-risk behaviors and/or live in high-risk settings. Specifically, key findings from papers one and two show higher than average prevalence of GBV among women who engage in sex trading as well as HIV-positive women. Findings from this dissertation also suggest that women who report depression, individual and partner sexual and drug risk-behaviors, and HIV-related stigma are more likely to report GBV than those who do not; and that women who have higher levels of social support and food security are less likely to report GBV and poor mental health. Findings also have several implications for GBV and HIV prevention/intervention efforts within the U.S. and in Kazakhstan, including scaling up efforts to address GBV by multiple perpetrators, stigma, trauma and mental health, drug and sexual risk among couples, and food stability.

The ability of individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) to effectively manage their health is dependent on the successful acquisition and use of health information. This may be particularly challenging in limited resource settings where numerous barriers may prevent people from finding, understanding, and applying the information that could lead to better health management. In this dissertation, I aimed to explore the health information behavior of HIV positive adults attending Clínica de Familia in La Romana, Dominican Republic. Offering free treatment and services to over 1,600 HIV positive adults makes this one of the largest HIV treatment centers in the Dominican Republic. Initially, an integrative review of the literature was conducted to summarize research that has explored the patient-identified information needs of HIV positive adults in Latin America and the Caribbean and to identify predominant health information needs of these individuals. Then, a retrospective chart review of 201 randomly selected medical records, two focus group discussions, and an adapted version of Wilson’s 1996 model of information behavior were used to develop a 64-item survey to assess health information behavior. The survey was administered during 107 individual interviews with HIV positive adults being seen at the Clinic. Participants were mostly female (60%), Dominican (75%), and lived in La Romana (59%). Approximately half of participants (49%) were married or in a serious relationship and about a third (33%) of participants had all or some of high school education or higher. Responses to information behavior survey items indicated that patients might not understand all of the health information they do receive, cultural variations may influence understanding of viral transmission, and that participants had low levels of health literacy. Data obtained through the surveys were further analyzed to identify patient characteristics associated with active health information seeking, higher information processing and more information use. Significantly associated patient characteristics were: having ever cared for someone who was very sick, age, gender, length of time at the clinic, and comorbidities. Providers at the Clinic as well as those working in underserved areas globally may use these results to advance their knowledge of the ways in which HIV positive adults interact with health information. This enhanced understanding can inform communication and health education programs that provide the information patients need to manage their health in a more usable way. Future research should examine what methods can be used to more effectively provide health information to patients living in constrained resource settings with limited educational backgrounds.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Psychology)) -- University of Limpopo, 2015 / The study aims at assessing the stress and dysfunction among families affected by the sudden reality of experiencing physically deteriorating family members due to HIV/AIDS progression, and to identify resilience factors that moderate the impact. Three-hundred and sixteen families were conveniently selected to participate in this study. The experimental group of the HIV/AIDS affected families (n=122), with two control groups of families caring for family members ailing because of a non- HIV/AIDS physical ailment (n=132) and the families not involved in the caring of any family member (n=62). Family resilience and stress questionnaires were used to collect the data. Family resilience questionnaires included Family Hardiness Index (FHI), Social Support Index (SSI), Relative and Friend Support (RFS), F-COPES, Family Time and Routine Index (FTRI), Family Problem Solving Communication (FPSC) Family Attachment and Changeability Index 8 (FACI 8). The family caregiver stress was measured by the Relative Stress Scale. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis were used to determine the moderating effect of the family qualities on the stress levels, and specific qualities unique in the families that bounce back. Stress was found to be high in the HIV/AIDS affected families when compared with the control families. Furthermore, the demographic information indicated that more stress was experienced in the HIV/AIDS affected families with a younger sick member and in poor economic conditions as well as when the sick person was a breadwinner. This indicated that stress elevation in the HIV/AIDS affected families was a function of economic conditions in the families and that caregivers may have experienced stress due to lack of proper resources and the stress of having sympathy for a young sick person who was expected to have a long life ahead of him or her. Social support (SSI), relative and friend support (RFS), and spending time together and engaging in similar routine collectively (FTRI) were found to moderate stress in HIV/AIDS affected families. Further research is needed to highlight the dynamics and the relationship with stress elevation around the new trend of HIV/AIDS infection of the younger age group as well as the economic burden or the impact of lack of resources in caring for the infected. More in-depth research must also be done with an emphasis on the dynamics between stigmatisation, stress moderation and resilience of families using more diverse families engaging in various caregiving situations of sick family members within various ecological and socio economic conditions.