Thesis (MTech (Environmental Health and Occupational Studies))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016 / Currently, the world faces many challenges such as a food shortages, fossil fuel depletion, floods, earthquakes, recession, wars, and climate change. It also faces diseases such as Human Immune Deficiency Virus /Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome /Sexually Transmitted Infections and Tuberculosis (HIV/AIDS /STI and TB). This study focused on HIV/AIDS/STI and TB, and the impact of changes in sexual behaviours of student peer educators as a result of peer education programmes offered by the HIV/AIDS Unit at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). Although young people today have a better understanding of risky sexual behaviours, HIV remains a health problem among the youth in South Africa. HIV/AIDS is a disease that affects all sectors of the population- rich and poor, young and adult, educated and uneducated. Tertiary institutions are places where many young female and male students live independently, unsupervised by their parents or guardians, in either private accommodation or student residences. Under these circumstances it may be expected that some students will explore and experience intimacy in their relationships. Hence, universities could play a vital role in shaping students’ attitudes and behaviours towards relationships, safer practices, and respect for others. Given the current absence of a cure or vaccine for HIV/AIDS, peer education should appear as an important tool in HIV prevention strategy. It draws on several well-known behavioural theories and many researchers view peer education as an effective behavioural change strategy. A formal structured Peer Education Programme was initiated and implemented at the HIV/AIDS Unit at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) since 2004. This initiative was in line with one of the twelve strategic objectives of the HIV/AIDS Unit at the CPUT. This study therefore, aimed to assess the reflexive effect that the Peer Education Programme had on student peer educators who volunteer their services at the HIV/AIDS Unit at CPUT. It further attempted to assess the effect of the Peer Education Programme on changes in sexual behaviours that could occur amongst student peer educators. The purpose of this programme was to explore peer educators who were based in the HIV/AIDS Unit applying their acquired knowledge and skills; so that they may become role models for their peers by practising what they taught, and not taught what they proposed to practice. The study furthermore, forms on how effective the Peer Education Programme of CPUT’s HIV/AIDS Unit is in changing sexual behaviours of the student peer educators.

Background HIV/AIDS has always been a concern since it first came up in 1981 in the field of medicine and public health. The trend of overall HIV epidemic has slow down through over 30 years fighting against the disease. Yet, being the largest population nowadays, young people still face high risk of HIV/AID. Sexual transmitted diseases, similar with HIV infection, are also a serious concern in young people. Peer education is widely used in the sexual education in young people. No review focused on the school-based peer education while most young people received their sexual education in schools. This systematic review aims to evaluate the effectiveness of school-based peer education on HIV/STD prevention and evaluate the factors that are likely to influence the effect of school-based peer education. Method Searching through PubMed and Cochrane Library, a literature review was carried out on the relevant articles about the evaluation of school-based peer education in developing and developed countries around the world from 2000-01-01 to 2014-05-31. Findings 10 experimental studies were chosen in this review, including 3 randomized controlled trials. Among 10 studies, 8 found significant improved about the general knowledge of HIV/STD and all studies showed positive change in attitude and risk perception in the peer-led education. However, no studies found significant effect of peer education on the behavioral change regarding condom use, postponing sexual intercourses and the reduction of sexual partners, etc. The interaction of peer education and the quality of peer-educators plus other demographical factors such as socioeconomic status and religions may influence the effect of school-based peer-led education. Conclusion School-based peer education was demonstrated to be effective on the prevention of HIV/STD in knowledge and attitude improvement, similar with other kinds of peer education. Peer educators and interactions between educators and educatees play important roles in the peer education. Yet, the effect of school-based education still requires long-term assessment. / published_or_final_version / Public Health / Master / Master of Public Health

The most widespread intervention in South Africa into the sexualities of young people is school based sexuality education. However there is a dearth of research in this area, and studies that have been conducted highlight major weaknesses with implementation. Research from Western countries indicates that the messages conveyed in sexuality education are resisted if they conflict with the desired sexual subjectivities of young people. This indicates a need for further research into desired youth sexualities, and school based sexuality education. While South African studies of young people‘s talk about sexualities have been conducted, there is a paucity of literature in this area from a discursive perspective. This study is situated within a feminist post-structuralist paradigm, utilising a performative-performance analytical approach which synthesises Butlerian theory with a narrative-discursive methodology. This approach enables an analysis of both the macro-discursive power webs within which sexualities are situated, and the micro-discursive activity through which sexual subject positions are constructed. I used this approach to analyse the talk of groups of students from a Further Education and Training College about the sexualities of High School learners and their own past sexuality education. Findings showed that that the most dominant discursive resources which were utilised to construct sexualities were societal sexual norms discourses. These foundational discourses constructed gendered sexualities of compulsory hyper-heterosex for men, and compulsory compliant girlfriendhood for women. Such gendered sexualities reinforced patriarchal and abusive gendered and sexual practices. Ways in which participants troubled the dominant gendered sexualities through the performance of alternative sexual positions were analysed, as these 'troubling' performances indicate mutable aspects of the normative gendered field. Participants drew on a discourse of disconnect when talking about their school sexuality education, and their parents‘ (lack of) communication with them about sex. This suggests that adultist attempts to construct a 'responsible' sexual subject position for young people are resisted when such a position is constructed in a non-relational manner. Collusion between the constructed gendered sexualities and the discourse of disconnect results in the un-performability of a 'responsible' sexual subject position. These findings were used to provide suggestions for enhancing school based sexuality interventions.