This report has been submitted to the School of Public Health in the Faculty of Health Sciences of the University of the Witwatersrand. The report is in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health in the field of Social Behaviour Change and Communication (MPH).
Date: 19 June 2017 / Background
Extant research in South Africa and elsewhere has shown that men tend to shy away from health care services. For men living with HIV, this may lead to poor ART adherence. Literature on men and masculinities suggests that social definitions of what it means to be a „man‟ affect and influence men‟s decisions to either seek or not seek health care. Some authors have argued that these definitions of manhood often discourage men from using public health facilities. Another body of scholarship suggests that South African men‟s poor health seeking behaviours and adherence to ART is also influenced partly by their experience with the healthcare system and the attitude of healthcare providers.
Aim
This study explored health seeking behaviours of men living with HIV with a focus on their long-term experiences with HIV care and treatment services, as well as their experiences with the new single, fixed-dose combination tablet and how it influences adherence to ART in South Africa.
Methods
This study used an exploratory qualitative study design, using in-depth interviews (IDIs) to collect data. The IDIs were conducted with 14 adult HIV positive men living who had been on ART for five or more years and were receiving care and treatment at Stretford Community Health Centre (CHC) in Orange Farm, Johannesburg.
Findings
The men shared in-depth individual experiences of what it means to live with HIV and subsequently being on treatment for a long time (five or more years). They gave insights on the psychosocial challenges that they have endured living with HIV. Furthermore, they shared their subsequent resolve to live healthy lifestyles despite the challenges they have encountered related to living with HIV. Regarding health care systems, the men were generally impressed with the services received at the health facility. Further, all but one man, were not bothered about the gender of the nurse attending to them at the health facility. The experiences of the men collectively, reflect and provide some insights of how self-determination can transcend societal definitions of what it means to be a man, and how notions of masculinities may influence how men cope and adjust to living with HIV, and their adherence to ART over a long period of time.
Conclusions
This study concludes that men are capable of modifying their masculine positions to cope with life-long adherence to HIV treatment regimens. The men‟s self-determination to adjust from destructive notions of masculinities in order to accommodate treatment is an area for further research to inform men‟s programming. Social support systems are key to men‟s ART adherence programmes. Stigma and discrimination remains a challenge within communities, and as such community sensitisation programmes should be strengthened to combat the vice. Programmes targeting men should promote behaviours perceived to be beneficial in prolonging men‟s lives.
The introduction of the fixed dose combination pill provides a great opportunity to strengthen men‟s abilities to consistently adhere to ART as it was taken once a day. / MT2017
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:wits/oai:wiredspace.wits.ac.za:10539/23231 |
| Date | January 2017 |
| Creators | Phiri, Bright |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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