Browsing by Subject "HIV/AIDS"
Now showing items 1-7 of 7
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Combrinck, Helene; Wakefield, Lorenzo (Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape, 2007)[more][less]
Abstract: In recent years, southern African governments have made a number of important commitments on international and regional levels to combat HIV/ AIDS. The subregion has also seen a number of strategic developments such as the drafting and implementation of the SADC HIV/AIDS Policy Framework for 2003-2007 and the appointment by the UN Secretary-General of a Task Force on Women, Girls and HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.It is now generally accepted that the intersections between gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS are among the most significant of the gendered dimensions of this pandemic. It is noteworthy that the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women devoted her 2005 thematic report to these intersections. She observed that while some progress is being made separately on ending violence against women and on stemming the spread of HIV/AIDS, national and international efforts would be vastly more effective if they addressed the interconnectness between the two pandemics. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/536 Files in this item: 1
CombrinckGender-Based Violence2007.pdf (284.7Kb) -
Nankwanga, Annet; Phillips, Julie; Neema, Stella (Faculty of Community and Health Sciences, University of the Western Cape, 2009)[more][less]
Abstract: Introduction: This paper presents HIV/AIDS experiences of elderly persons in Uganda as revealed by an ongoing descriptive cross-sectional study covering eight districts, namely: Pallisa, Kampala, Jinja, Lira, Nebbi, Ntungamo, Luwero and Mbarara. These districts represent both the rural and urban areas of the four regions of Uganda, including: Western, Northern, Eastern and Central region. Methods: The study employed a mixed method approach using a sequential exploratory strategy. Data was collected using not only focus group discussions and in-depth interviews held with 165 elderly persons but also a validated interview schedule administered to 50 key informants. Elderly persons participated in the study by providing data on their HIV/AIDS-related experiences. Key respondents were selected to provide data on strategies that could be adopted to curb the effects of the epidemic. This paper is based on one of the study's objectives, which focussed on exploring the effects of HIV/AIDS on Uganda's elderly people; coping mechanisms used to deal with HIV/AIDS; and strategies for curbing its effects. Data was analysed using content analysis and the descriptive method of SPSS. Results: Results show that HIV/AIDS affected most of the elderly people in Uganda by killing their children and spouses, and leaving them with a big burden of taking care of AIDS orphans; yet majority of these people were financially too incapacitated to shoulder it amply. HIV/AIDS also infected the elderly people. The epidemic introduced the need for ARVs and other health services that elderly people found too difficult to access due to poor health service delivery systems in Uganda. Most elderly people used food cultivation as a mechanism for coping with the burden of orphans. These results lead to recommending that government should economically empower elderly people through formulation and effective implementation of welfare policies regarding pension and special fund for these people. Conclusion: There is a need for the government to provide adequate and free HIV/AIDS-related health services and also increase educational support for HIV/AIDS orphans. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/121 Files in this item: 1
AnnetHIV2009.pdf (178.8Kb) -
Scott, Vera; Chopra, Mickey; Conrad, Liz; Ntuli, Antoinette (Health and Medical Publishing Group, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: OBJECTIVES. To assess the extent of inequalities in availability and utilisation of HIV services across South Africa. DESIGN. Cross-sectional descriptive study. Setting. Three districts reflecting different socio-economic conditions, but with similar levels of HIV infection, were purposively sampled. Outcome measures. Availability and utilisation of HIV services and management and support structures for programmes were assessed through the collection of secondary data supplemented by site visits. RESULTS. There were marked inequalities in service delivery between the three sites. Compared with two poorer sites, clinics at the urban site had greater availability of HIV services, including voluntary counselling and testing (100% v. 52% and 24% respectively), better uptake of this service (59 v. 9 and 5.5 clients per 1 000 adults respectively) and greater distribution of condoms (15.6 v. 8.2 condoms per adult male per year). Extra counsellors had also been employed at the urban site in contrast to the other 2 sites. The urban site also had far more intensive management support and monitoring, with 1 manager per 12 health facilities compared with 1 manager per more than 90 health facilities at the other 2 sites. CONCLUSION. The process of scaling up of HIV services seems to be accentuating inequalities. The urban site in this study was better able to utilise the extra resources. In contrast, the poorer sites have thus far been unable to scale up the response to HIV even with the availability of extra resources. Unless policy makers pay more attention to equity, efficacious interventions may prove to be of limited effectiveness. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/172 Files in this item: 1
ScottHowEquitable2005.pdf (307.4Kb) -
Puoane, Thandi; Hughes, Gail (South African Medical Association, 2005)[more][less]
Abstract: HIV/AIDS continues to ravage sub-Saharan Africa, and in South Africa accounts for 30% of all mortality, making it the leading cause of death. The epidemic has had other negative effects, which have not been fully realised. Among these is the fact that, paradoxically, the awareness programmes implemented to prevent major spread of HIV/AIDS have complicated the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/283 Files in this item: 1
HIV and NCDs m_samj_v95_n4_a6.pdf (219.2Kb) -
Isaacs, Moenieba; Hara, Mafaniso (PLAAS, University of the Western Cape, 2008)[more][less]
Abstract: This research investigated the drivers and the impact of HIV and Aids in fishing communities in South Africa, in order to assist the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism: Marine and Coastal Management (DEAT:MCM) with mainstreaming of HIV and Aids into policy on fisheries. The research was based on in-depth analysis of four fishing communities in the Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/67 Files in this item: 1
Isaacs_Mainstreaming2008.pdf (319.2Kb) -
Biraguma, Juvenal; Rhoda, Anthea (Taylor & Francis, 2012)[more][less]
Abstract: Although the life expectancy of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH) has increased in the past years, they could experience secondary illness such as peripheral neuropathy (PN). Therefore, they need to adapt to chronic disablement which could affect their quality of life (QoL). The research that informed this article aimed at determining the prevalence of PN among adults living with HIV/AIDS and attending the outpatients’ clinic at Rutongo Hospital in the Rulindo district of Rwanda. Another aim was to determine these patients’ QoL. A cross-sectional descriptive quantitative research design was used. A time-constrained method was used to sample 185 adults living with HIV/AIDS and attending the outpatients’ clinic at Rutongo Hospital. The subjective PN screen and the World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale Brief Version were used to collect the data. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Student’s t-test and one-way analysis of variance were performed to determine if significant differences existed between QoL scores in participants with and without PN symptoms. The results indicated that 40.5% of respondents experienced PN. QoL in participants with PN showed significantly lower scores in the physical (p ¼ 0.013) and psychological (p ¼ 0.020) domains when compared with those who did not have PN. These results indicate a high prevalence of neuropathy among PLWH attending the outpatients’ clinic at Rutongo Hospital. In addition, patients with neuropathy had lower QoL scores in the physical and psychological domains than those without neuropathy symptoms. The management of PLWH should therefore include interventions to optimise QoL as well as screening for neuropathy symptoms so that sufferers can liaise with their medical providers to find medical and supportive therapies that could assist them. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/529 Files in this item: 1
BiragumaPeripheralNeuropathy2012.pdf (98.16Kb) -
Scott, Vera; Chopra, Mickey; Azevedo, Virginia; Caldwell, Judy; Naidoo, Pren; Smuts, Brenda (BioMed Central Ltd, 2010)[more][less]
Abstract: BACKGROUND: In South Africa the need to integrate HIV, TB and STI programmes has been recognised at a policy and organisation level; the challenge is now one of translating policies into relevant actions and monitoring implementation to ensure that the anticipated benefits of integration are achieved. In this research, set in public primary care services in Cape Town, South Africa, we set out to determine how middle level managers could be empowered to monitor the implementation of an effective, integrated HIV/TB/STI service. METHODS: A team of managers and researchers designed an evaluation tool to measure implementation of key components of an integrated HIV/TB/STI package with a focus on integration. They used a comprehensive health systems framework based on conditions for programme effectiveness and then identified and collected tracer indicators. The tool was extensively piloted in two rounds involving 49 clinics in 2003 and 2004 to identify data necessary for effective facility-level management. A subsequent evaluation of 16 clinics (2 per health sub district, 12% of all public primary care facilities) was done in February 2006. RESULTS: 16 clinics were reviewed and 635 records sampled. Client access to HIV/TB/STI programmes was limited in that 50% of facilities routinely deferred clients. Whilst the physical infrastructure and staff were available, there was problem with capacity in that there was insufficient staff training (for example, only 40% of clinical staff trained in HIV care). Weaknesses were identified in quality of care (for example, only 57% of HIV clients were staged in accordance with protocols) and continuity of care (for example, only 24% of VCT clients diagnosed with HIV were followed up for medical assessment). Facility and programme managers felt that the evaluation tool generated information that was useful to manage the programmes at facility and district level. On the basis of the results facility managers drew up action plans to address three areas of weakness within their own facility. CONCLUSIONS: This use of the tool which is designed to empower programme and facility managers demonstrates how engaging middle managers is crucial in translating policies into relevant actions. URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10566/173 Files in this item: 1
ScottScalingUpIntegration2010.pdf (627.0Kb)
Now showing items 1-7 of 7