Diss. Stockholm : Karol. inst.

Diss. Tromsø : Universitetet i Tromsø, 2006.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

HIV prevalence remains a critical health concern particularly amongst the youth of South Africa. The demographic health survey suggests that open communication about sex is essential to delaying the onset of sexual activity, reducing teenage pregnancy and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Previous research has also indicated that parent-adolescent communication has positive influences on sexual behaviours. Further to that studies show that communication is the most effective way of helping teenagers understand their surroundings and make better decisions about sexually related issues. This study investigates the level of parent-adolescent communication about sexual related issues and identifies the main sources of sexuality information for adolescents. The study adopted a qualitative research approach using in-depth interviews with ten adolescents and their parents. This study reveals that both adolescents and parents view communication as important in the era of HIV/AIDS. More mothers than fathers communicate with adolescents about sexual related topics. Mothers viewed sexual communication as one of the ways they were fulfilling parental responsibility. Adolescents viewed growing up in an era of HIV/AIDS as a challenge due to the pressures they received from their peers. As a result adolescents trusted the information obtained from parents and teachers compared to the information from peers. The conclusion drawn from this study is that communication helps to create a bond between the parent and the adolescent. Adolescents felt important and cared for when parents were taking their time to talk to them about sexual related issues. Parent-adolescent communication was important in decreasing early sexual behaviour and preventing HIV/AIDS. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2009.

In the last seven to eight years, Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) has received an increasing amount of attention internationally. It has come to be viewed as an important way of preventing new HIV infections and prolonging HIV-positive peoples' lives. In late 2003 the increased attention, amongst other factors, led the South African government to publish a comprehensive health care plan stating that all citizens in South Africa who need ART should receive it by year 2009. Patients' adherence and their sexual behavior are crucial to the success of ART. This thesis focuses on what factors influence patients' sexual behavior after commencing ART. It will especially look at ART patients' perception of their own infectiousness, as studies have suggested that lower viral loads caused by ART will increase their sexual risk behaviour. The research was conducted on patients attending Ithembalabantu Clinic in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Qualitative and quantitative data were used in the study. The quantitative data involved 271 face-to-face interviews based on a survey. The qualitative data involved conducting 20 semistructured interviews. The results indicated that consistent condom use was high among the sample population (72%), and only two females and seven males having multiple partners (7%). However, due to ART just recently having been introduced in South Africa, the average time spent on ART was 14 months. The findings reveal that a partner's attitude to HIV/AIDS and the levels of communication and openness in a relationship influenced consistent use of condoms. The use of condoms was significantly related to knowledge of partners' status. A high level of sexual assertiveness amongst the females in the sample might have made it easier for them to negotiate condom use. The stage at which members of the sample population entered the relationship was also a predictor of condom use. People who were unemployed and over 35 years in age were less likely to use condoms consistently. The study also examined the respondents' perception of their own infectiousness. The results indicate that respondents and participants felt that it was just as, or even more dangerous, to have sexual intercourse without a condom when they are on ART. Few of the participants in the study understood the concept of viral load. They used the same explanation for both viral load and CD4 count. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

There are two dominant approaches to counselling for sexual risk reduction In South Africa. The TASO model which is based on client centred principles, informs much of vCT counsellors' training. More recently, the (ARRM) AIDS Risk Reduction Model which includes a cognitive behavioural component to counselling for sexual risk reduction has been introduced. A sample of vCT counsellors who have been trained using the ARRM were interviewed to develop an understanding of their experiences of using this approach. These participants provide a vCT service to clients in the midlands of the province of KwaZulu-Natal. A central finding was that although counsellors experienced the cognitive behavioural approach as having good potential for effecting sexual behaviour change, numerous barriers were identified to applying the approach within the South African context. Counsellors were also critical of the TASO model as a model for counsell ing for sexual risk reduction. Elements of the cognitive behavioural approach they experienced as useful included its potential for changing cognitions (misconceptions and myths in communities), the collaborative nature of the approach, negotiating strategies for risk reduction, use of a problem solving approach, follow-up and monitoring of behaviour. Barriers identified included contextual constraints such as poverty, gender power differentials and cultural practices. Also identified as a barrier was the dominance of the biomedical approach within the health care system. Despite identifying barriers to the application of this approach, counsellors remained optimistic that cognitive behavioural approaches could be adapted to the life context of their clients and that this could be facilitated through further training and mentoring. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

Introduction: The high prevalence of HIV in South Africa was confirmed by Department of Health (2005) which reported an HIV prevalence rate of 40.7 percent amongst antenatal clinic attendees at public facilities in KwaZulu-Natal in 2004. Abstinence is one of the strategies used by many different cultures where young unmarried people are encouraged to abstain from sex until marriage, to prevent young girls from getting pregnant and acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate African rural high school learners' choice of sexual abstinence and to compare abstinent versus non-abstinent African rural high school learners in order to be able to develop tailored educational messages. Abstinence was defined as not having penetrative sex, since this is the accepted definition of abstinence in Zulu culture. Objectives: a) To investigate the prevalence of abstinence from sexual intercourse amongst African rural high school learners, b) To assess demographic, psychosocial, and economic determinants of abstinence from sexual intercourse, c) To make recommendations about abstinence interventions. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in a rural area (Ugu District in southern KwaZulu-Natal). One class of Grade 9 learners, ages 14-20 years, was selected from each often randomly selected rural high schools. An anonymous selfreporting semi-structured questionnaire used the I-Change model to investigate demographic and economic information, attitudes, social influences, self-efficacy and intentions towards sexual abstinence. Chi square and T-tests were used for bivariate analysis and Logistic regression was used to develop a model for abstinence from sexual intercourse. Results: A total of 454 learners participated with a mean age of 16.76 years (SD 1.41) age range 14-20 years. Of the sample 208 (45.8%) were male and 246 (54.2%) female. The majority were Christian (84.6% (n=384)) and of this population, 28.3% (n=127) reported that they had 'ever had sex'. Furthermore, 24.5% (n=91) of learners reported that they were currently sexually active. Fifty six percent (n=252) of learners reported that they abstained from sex. When comparing learners reporting abstinence (n= 252) with those not abstinent (n= 202), abstinent learners were significantly more often females, who had never had sex (p / Thesis (M.Med.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

This study describes how AIDS prevention education programs were constructed, delivered, and implemented in Vancouver between 1983 and 1994. Biodeterministic models of disease are examined through a historical analysis of documents that include newsletters, minutes of board meetings, policy reviews, annual reports, and personal journals. This study assumes that AIDS is as much a sociocultural phenomenon as it is biological. The findings suggest that present educational guidelines for AIDS prevention are unable to identify what messages should be communicated and fail to identify to whom they should be conveyed. This study does not recommend the use of biodeterministic models of AIDS prevention education which reflect plague metaphors. Instead, culturally relevant strategies need to be developed throughout all aspects of AIDS prevention curricula.

Research on AIDS and women is recent and focuses almost exclusively on the heterosexual population. Despite research on the sexual behavior of young women which asserts that lesbians are at low risk for exposure to HTV, many lesbians engage in high risk practices and are therefore at risk for infection. In order for AIDS education for this population to be effective, it must be designed spedfically to meet identified needs. [...]

This study surveyed the sexual behaviors and knowledge of Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) among 117 undergraduate students from McGill University, Montreal. The sample consisted of 32 men and 85 women ranging from 18 up to 24 years of age. The total sample was split into three knowledge groups, Low, Medium, and High, based on answers provided to questions about AIDS. The data were analyzed separately for the total sample, men, women, and the three knowledge groups. The findings indicated that these students were relatively knowledgeable about AIDS (73.23% correct responses out of 21 items), but were engaging in high risk sexual activities. It appears that personal concern about contracting AIDS, not knowledge of this disease, is related to behavior change among undergraduate students. It was recommended that AIDS education programs focus more on increasing the personal concern than the AIDS knowledge of adolescents.