People dying of HIV/AIDS and the delay in finding a cure has put education programmes at the centre of HIV/AIDS management. The study purpose is to investigate the effects of Life Orientation programme on HIV/AIDS prevention knowledge, attitudes and behaviours amongst college students at a TVET College in Randburg. A quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design was used, and a questionnaire was administered to level 1 students (n=141). Data was collected, and analysed using SPSS version 25. The findings showed a relationship between Life Orientation (LO) and knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of students towards HIV/AIDS. Students with high Life Orientation perception reported adequate knowledge and positive attitudes. Many respondents revealed high levels of HIV/AIDS knowledge, healthy behaviour and positive attitude towards HIV/AIDS, showing that Life Orientation had aided in those areas. However, some students had poor perceptions of HIV/AIDS knowledge, henceforth lacked the confidence to protect themselves. Several recommendations to health promoters, education policymakers and the community were given. / Health Studies / M. P. H.

M. Tech. (Department of Biotechnology, Faculty of Applied and Computer Sciences), Vaal University of Technology. / Background: Currently, the South African National Blood Services are not testing for HTLV and HTLV screening is not mandated by the WHO or by regulatory standards in South Africa. Looking at the uniquely high prevalence of HIV and HIV / HBV co-infections in the South African population and taking into account the literature that suggests that most of these infected patients will be receiving blood, exposing these patients to an additional burden like HTLV can result in an increased disease progression of HIV to AIDS and a poor prognosis in these infected patients. Study design and methods: A blinded cross-sectional study was performed. 7015 specimens were collected from all blood transfusion laboratories across South Africa excluding the Western Cape Blood Transfusion Service laboratories. The specimens collected were tested using the ABBOTT Alinity S® Immunochemiluminescent autoanalyser. All test results were confirmed with the Roche Cobas® E801 and E411 auto analyser. Results: Over all prevalence for HIV was 39.39% (N=2763), HBV 7.57% (n=531) and HTLV 0.70% (N=49). Concurrent infection for HIV/HBV 4.92% (N=345), HIV/HTLV 0.36% (N=25), HBV/HTLV 0.09% (N=6) and HIV/HBV/HTLV 0.07% (N=5). Conclusion: This study confirmed an overall high prevalence of HIV and HBV infections among patients receiving blood products from the SANBS. Compared to the general population, the HIV prevalence in blood recipients was two-fold higher. Patients receiving a blood transfusion from the SANBS have high rates of HIV, HBV and HTLV which should be taken into consideration when determining donor screening strategies.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of food gardens in influencing the vulnerability of women in rural communities to HIV-infections. The study was conducted at the Makotse Women's Club in rural Limpopo. Qualitative field research was used and five participants were purposefully selected for participation in face-to-face interviews. The study found that the women's involvement in the food gardens enabled them to take responsibility for their own lives. Participation in food gardens gave these women an opportunity for income generation, the chance to access healthy food sources to improve their and their families' diets and a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives. Financial independence from husbands and male partners freed them from poverty and male domination. Through exposure to HIV and AIDS education programmes offered at the food gardens the women were empowered with knowledge about sexual health, hence reducing their vulnerability to HIV-AIDS. / Sociology / M. A. ((Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS))

The study was about the process evaluation of the development of the YOUNG WORKERS CAMPAIGN (YWC) Programme to document and analyses the involvement and participation of stakeholders in the development process. The purpose of the study was on the assessment of stakeholder participation and involvement in the development of the YWC to maximise the effectiveness, acceptability and sustainability of the intended programme. Informant interviews, focus group interviews and document analysis were the primary means of collecting data for this research study. The main findings are as follows: Few of the stakeholders were involved in the conceptualisation phase of the YWC Programme and their roles in the development process were not clearly described. Stakeholder analysis was not done and their involvement in decision-making was limited. In order to address the problem of participation, YWC stakeholders should pass through a process of stakeholder analysis, that is, they should be assessed in terms of contribution and value-adding to the development process. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies HIV/AIDS)

The aim of this study was to investigate the perceptions, attitudes, opinions and fears of the adolescent high school learners towards HIV counseling and testing at school.Quantitative, descriptive, exploratory research was conducted to determine if high school learners would like to be tested for HIV at school. Data collection was done using structured questionnaires. The respondents in the study were daytime high school learners (n=120) who were in grade 8 to 12, between ages of 12 to 18 years of age. The study highlighted that adolescents engage in sexual activities at an early age. The results revealed that there is lack of knowledge, unavailability of HCT services for adolescents and the resources to keep a girl child school. This behavior may result in adolescents contracting sexually transmitted infections and HIV, falling pregnant at an early age, which may force adolescent high school learners to drop out of school. However, the study shows that government has more to educate adolescent high school learners about HIV/AIDS to modify their perceptions and attitudes towards HIV counseling and testing. / Health Studies / M.A. (Health studies)

The purpose of the study was to investigate Grade 12 learners’ perceptions of their vulnerability to HIV infections in order to gain insight of their experiences on HIV and AIDS at schools in the Eastern Cape. This was done by using a mixed method approach where focus-group discussions and questionnaires were used to gather data. This study found that the teaching of HIV and AIDS or Life Skills is not adequate. It is possible that the lack of learner involvement in the design and implementation of the programmes could be one of the reasons why there is low participation by learners in intervention programmes in schools, as noted in this study. There is need for strong advocacy on the use of condoms as a preventive measure against unwanted pregnancies, and sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) including HIV. More involvement in extra-curricular activities would help learners to develop self-esteem and the ability to resist drugs and other risky sexual behaviours. / Social Work / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV & AIDS)

Human Immunodeficiency Virus is the leading cause of death among women of reproductive age worldwide. It is also a major contributor to infant mortality. The effective application of prevention of mother-to-child transmission strategies effectively reduces the risk of mother-to-child transmission. The intent of this study was to determine the availability and accessibility of the PMTCT programme in one district of the North West Province of South Africa. A qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual design was utilised to gain better understanding of the experiences of both the HIV positive pregnant women and the Health Care Workers regarding the availability and access to the PMTCT programme. The study population consisted of HIV positive pregnant women between 18 and 49 years of age and Health Care Workers aged between 21 to 60 years of age. The non-probability purposive sampling technique was utilised to identify potential research participants. Data were collected by means of individual semi-structured interviews with HIV positive pregnant women and focus group discussions with the Health Care Workers. Adherence to Tesch’s eight descriptive methods was utilised as the primary form of data analysis, organisation and interpretation. The findings of the study revealed that availability and accessibility of PMTCT services are still problematic. Distance, waiting periods, and long queues were among the few mentioned as problematic. There were also few positives such as communication, counseling and health education. Strategies for facilitation of the availability and accessibility of the PMTCT programme were developed based on the findings. Themes emerged from the HIV positive pregnant women’s data included: acceptance of one’s sero positive status, maternal concerns, stressors about HIV status, as well as lack and shortage of resources and support by health care professionals and family; while emerging themes from the Health Care Workers included: fear of disclosure by HIV positive pregnant women, child feeding, formal trainings and workshops on PMTCT programme, as well as lack and shortage of resources and loss to follow-up activities / Health Studies / D. Litt. et Phil. (Health Studies)

AIDS-related illnesses are the leading cause of deaths in South Africa. Alcohol misuse among male youths fuels the risk of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), including HIV. Literature review was conducted on the association of alcohol misuse and the risk of contracting HIV among male youths. In this qualitative study fourteen male youths, all from Soshanguve in Gauteng province, participated in face-to-face interviews. The male youths who misuse alcohol show greater signs of indulging in risky sexual intercourse. In addition, the male youths who find their sexual partners at taverns were less likely to use condoms during sex. Other factors linked to alcohol misuse that hinder HIV-prevention include multiple sexual partners, transactional sex, men who have sex with men (MSM), young men’s dominance over young women and non-use of condoms. The findings of this research project indicate the need of deliberate focus on alcohol misuse during HIV-prevention education. HIV-prevention interventions should pay attention to reducing sexual risk behaviour associated with alcohol misuse among young men. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)

The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the perceptions of adolescents about sexuality and sexually transmitted infections, which probably contribute towards the high incidence of sexually transmitted infections amongst this group.The study was designed as a qualitative, exploratory and descriptive research. A focus group interview and unstructured observation were used to collect data, using a nonprobability snowball sample. The group consisted of 12 male and female adolescents residing in a specific geographical area in Pretoria and attending different high schools. Recommendations made focus on: the approach to sex education programmes factors that need to be addressed in order to improve adolescent sexual health empowerment strategies of teachers, parents and community leaders on adolescent sexuality and sexually transmitted infections so that in turn, they should be able to empower adolescents on their sexual roles and thus make informed choices The impact of implementing the recommendations will benefit individuals, families and communities. / Health Studies / M.A.(Health Studies)

Text in English / This study sought to evaluate the implementation of an HIV and AIDS workplace policy at Sappi-Ngodwana mill. Employing process evaluation, and adopting a qualitative approach, the study evaluated the intervention process, the perceptions of the policy implementers, the strengths and weaknesses of the policy implementation, and suggests possible strategies for addressing the challenges. A systems approach was the theoretical point of departure and guiding framework of the research study. Research data was gathered through in-depth interviews with key informants and theory-driven and data-driven inductive reasoning was adopted in analysing the data. The general findings were that although the Sappi-Ngodwana mill implements a comprehensive HIV and AIDS programme that are in line with national and international benchmarks, there were challenges identified. Recommendations are that the company redesign the HIV and AIDS policy implementation plan with a specific focus on improving the peer educators` system. / Sociology / M.A. (Social Behaviour Studies in HIV/AIDS)