Internet Use Among People with HIV/AIDS

ABSTRACT

The Internet offers people with HIV/AIDS timely information about treatment advances and supportive social contacts for this stigmatized disease, yet little is known about Internet use patterns among people with HIV/AIDS. This study of 120 persons with HIV/AIDS in the U.S. found approximately 19% used the Internet for HIV/AIDS-related purposes, much lower than the rate for general Internet use among the U.S. population. Lower incomes were associated with lower rates of use, echoing the “digital divide” found in the general population. Access from home was most common and information sought was primarily on medical treatments and medications. Possible reasons for low access rates, strategies for increasing access, and implications for other client groups are discussed.     

Qualitative evaluation of HIV/AIDS IEC activities in Madagascar

UNICEF commissioned a qualitative evaluation of a program in which two partners conducted prevention activities concerning HIV/AIDS and STIs amongst youth in Madagascar. The evaluation assessed project activities and conducted a practical exercise in focus group methodology, following a workshop on evaluation techniques. Information was collected from a wide range of people, including 441 participants in 46 focus groups in nine sites. Six sites were areas of project activities and three sites were targeted for future activities. Clubs that integrated HIV/AIDS and STI information into their regular activities were most successful in their information, education and communication activities. A more participatory approach is recommended, to achieve a better match between target groups and messages delivered, and to foster trust and support. Another challenge remaining is to address fears and stigma through advocacy for the care and support of affected people.     

Evaluation of HIV/AIDS peer education projects in Zambia

This 1998 evaluation assessed the peer education programmes of HIV/AIDS projects run by four non-governmental organisations. A mini-case study approach was used and analysis was based on cross-case itemistic variables. The projects were assessed only in terms of immediate developmental outcomes to target groups rather than on long-term impact. The study concluded the following: (1) The projects had raised community awareness of HIV/AIDS; (2) Basic knowledge of HIV/AIDS was for the most part accurate; (3) There was anecdotal evidence of behavioural changes in terms of partner-reduction as reported by the projects, though the evidence was sometimes conflicting; and (4) There was evidence that certain traditional practices, which contributed to the spread of the virus (e.g. sexual cleansing and scarification), were becoming modified over time. The programmes were also instrumental in protecting human rights and enabling people living with HIV/AIDS to maintain human dignity.     

HIV/AIDS Orphans' Education in Uganda

Abstract

The HIV/AIDS epidemic in most sub-Saharan African countries has created a crisis in the African family structure. In Uganda, older people's roles have been reversed from being provided for to providers. Older people, who are already poor, face the loss of economic support from their adult children and unexpected social, psychological and economic burden due to the care-giving role they assume. In this study, we used cross-sectional data from Kayunga district in Central Uganda to examine the impact of HIV/AIDS on the role of older persons. We found that there were HIV/AIDS related deaths in 82.3% of the surveyed households. In almost 34% of the households, the care-givers of HIV/AIDS orphans were older people over 50 years old. Almost all households headed by older people (97.8%) had on average three school-going orphaned children living in the household.     

An ethnography of HIV/AIDS and sexuality in the People's Republic of China

China's HIV epidemic is now a growing reality, yet there is virtually no evidence of it in the HIV/AIDS literature. This report documents ethnographic and epidemiologic findings from field visits conducted in Beijing, Chengdu, and Kunming; the latter in Yunnan province, site of China's most severe nidus of HIV infection. This report also elaborates those cultural, social, and political factors involved in China's attempt to manage its growing HIV epidemic. Contemporary attitudes toward sexuality in China which impinge upon such management, as revealed through ethnographic interviews, are reviewed. Data from the First Sino‐American Management of HIV Disease Symposium (to which the author was a delegate) are also blended with the ethnographic material to further clarify the cultural and epidemiologic status of HIV/AIDS in China. It is the conclusion of this report that HIV/AIDS and its management pose a transforming, ineluctable challenge to China's traditional attitudes toward sexuality.     

阿拉伯国家艾滋病问题现状综述

本文概述了阿拉伯国家艾滋病问题的现状，分析了阿拉伯国家自身的文化、社会结构特点与艾滋病传播的关系，指出艾滋病已成为当今阿拉伯各国不可忽视的重要问题，同时也对阿拉伯国家防治艾滋病的前景做出了较乐观的估计。     

HIV/AIDS and homelessness

This article describes the results of research on the demographic, housing, psychosocial characteristics, and service needs of a sample of homeless people with HIV disease. Results show that respondents are similar in demographic and housing characteristics to the general homeless population. On average, respondents report high levels of stress and depression, moderate satisfaction with perceived social support availability, moderate beliefs in their ability to influence health related outcomes, moderate levels of self-efficacy, and low levels of physical and psychosocial disability. A range of services was identified as both helpful and useful in supporting a stable living arrangement. Implications for social policy, service provision, and research are discussed.     

HIV/AIDS and Homelessness

This article describes the results of research on the demographic, housing, psychosocial characteristics, and service needs of a sample of homeless people with HIV disease_ Results show that respondents are similar in demographic and housing characteristics to the general homeless population. On average, respondents report high levels of stress and depression, moderate satisfaction with perceived social support availability, moderate beliefs in their ability to influence health related outcomes, moderate levels of self-efficacy, and low levels ofphysical and psychosocial disability. A range of services was identified as both helpful and useful in supporting a stable living arrangement. Implications for social policy, service provision, and research are discussed.     

Women in India: The Context and Impact of HIV/AIDS

ABSTRACT

The response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic on the Indian subcontinent has been hampered by several factors, including societal stigma, lack of educational resources, lack of economic opportunities, and the competing priorities for a nation just growing and developing an infrastructure for education, industry, and health. In particular, Indian women are silent victims in this epidemic because they do not readily have a respected voice in decision making and priority setting for the government. The epidemic is increasingly affecting and infecting Indian women (e.g., female commercial sex workers, married women, and pregnant women). The status of Indian women has placed them at extreme disadvantage because India is a country with socially progressive laws but has been slow to change its social norms. The reported HIV prevalence is low although many researchers agree a large amount of underreporting occurs. For India to address this emerging epidemic among women appropriately, it should focus on three intervention areas: (1) short-term solutions such as treatment options for those already infected with HIV to prevent further infection to sexual partners and children; (2) intermediate solutions such as education for those who are uninfected but engaging in behaviors that may put them at risk, such as injection drug use, engaging in commercial sex work, engaging in extramarital sexual relations, and having sexual partners who are not monogamous; and 3) long-term solutions such as addressing the root causes of inequality (e.g., disparities in education and employment and unwillingness to change social norms).     

Greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa

This study reports on a pilot project, the greater involvement of people living with HIV/AIDS Workplace Model, which places trained fieldworkers living openly with HIV/AIDS in selected partner organisations sectors, where they set up, review or enrich workplace policies and programmes. The project adds credibility to partners' HIV/AIDS programmes and creates a supportive environment for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and others to speak about HIV/AIDS. Eleven men and women living with HIV, aged between 30 and 45, and with varied life experiences and education levels, shared a willingness to speak about their HIV status in their workplace. They worked in very different environments but their collective experiences showed that PLWHA can add value to workplace HIV/AIDS programmes in a way that is relevant, effective, efficient, sustainable and ethical. They made companies and communities more aware of the intense need for HIV/AIDS policies and encouraged care and support for infected and affected people.     

Sifting Through Trauma: Compassion Fatigue and HIV/AIDS

This article explores the compassion fatigue of the author and the graduate students he supervised while conducting psychotherapy with persons living with HIV/AIDS at a counseling center in Atlanta, Georgia. The metaphor of a sifter is suggested to represent the self-care strategies that providers employ to avoid and manage compassion fatigue. Several vignettes are presented and discussed from the perspective of the provider. The vignettes facilitate an examination of the contribution of trauma experienced by persons living with HIV/AIDS to the compassion fatigue of social service providers. The author recommends a renewal of research in the area of compassion fatigue among social service providers working with these clients.     

Who Can Help People with HIV/AIDS in Africa? Governance of HIV/AIDS and Civil Society

This paper locates NGOs dealing with HIV/AIDS problems in sub-Saharan Africa into the larger governance context within which they function. This aims at a theoretical shift to assess the aspirational characteristics for the agency of NGOs that are used to legitimate contracting out implementation of internationally designed HIV/AIDS policies to these organizations. The paper interrogates the nature and impact of the governance structure on NGOs and then looks at the implications of this for HIV/AIDS. The questioning is based on a juxtaposition of the perspective of international policy fora in relation to civil society organizations with the way NGO work is perceived by the people at the receiving end of the policies. The paper suggests that as part of the international governance structure, NGOs are limited within the policy frameworks created by this structure. Furthermore, due to their organizational characteristics, NGOs lack capacity to establish sustainable long-term interventions relevant for sociocultural change as perceived by people themselves.     

College Students and HIV/AIDS: A Comparison of Nontraditional and Traditional Student Perspectives

Objective and Participants The authors compared nontraditional college students' knowledge and perceptions of HIV/AIDS and sexual practices with previously reported results about traditional students. Methods Nontraditional students completed an online survey with questions based on national HIV/AIDS surveys. Traditional students completed the same survey with paper and pencil. Results Overall, the authors found more similarities than differences between the 2 groups. The findings support previous research that suggests that although college students are knowledgeable about HIV and its risks, they express little personal concern about becoming infected. The authors also discuss how apparent differences between nontraditional and traditional students regarding personal concern about becoming infected, relationship status, and information sources may influence the development of effective prevention strategies geared toward nontraditional college students. Conclusions Institutional leaders need to adapt to these differences, and researchers should undertake additional studies to clarify these differences so that college students may be more effectively educated about HIV/AIDS and encouraged to get tested.     

The Socio‐Economic Determinants of HIV/AIDS Infection Rates in Lesotho,Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe

Using data from the Demographic and Health Survey, this article analyses the relationship between HIV status and the socio‐economic and demographic characteristics of adults in Lesotho, Malawi, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. It constructs the risk profile of the average adult, computes the values of age, education and wealth where the estimated probability of infection assumes its highest value, and determines the percentage of adults for whom these three factors are positively correlated with that probability. It finds that in all four countries: (i) the probability of being HIV‐positive is higher for women than for men; (ii) the likelihood of infection is higher for urban than for rural residents; and (iii) there is an inverted‐U relationship between age and HIV status. Also that, unlike gender, rural/urban residence and age, the relationship between the probability of infection and wealth, education and marital status varies by country. The results provide support for country‐specific and more targeted HIV policies and programmes.     

Chapter 12. Families Caring for Persons with HIV/AIDS

SUMMARY

The extent to which family members are willing and able to assist with daily activities and provide emotional support can greatly affect the quality of life for persons with chronic illness. In the case of HIV/AIDS, the burdens of symptom management and medication are amplified by social stigma. This chapter provides a summary of the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual issues associated with HIV/AIDS along with approaches to assessment and treatment.     

HIV/AIDS: Measuring an Evolving Virus

Many social work journal articles portray HIV as a chronic illness. Although HIV medical management has evolved, it is far from chronic for most of the world. With such rapid developments in the field of HIV/AIDS, this article examines validity of knowledge measurements developed pre-HAART. Further, what place does validity hold in the maintenance of these measurement devices? The authors review several widely used measurement scales utilized in developed nations—The Beliefs About Preventing AIDS, The HIV Knowledge Questionnaire, and The International IADS Questionnaire-English Version—to answer these questions and to promote understanding for social workers in the field of HIV/AIDS regarding validity of the instruments.     

Evaluation of HIV/AIDS prevention through peer education, counselling, health care, training and urban refuges in Ghana

Since 1996, Ireland Aid has supported UNICEF Ghana in the implementation of five activities that promote behaviour change to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS and STIs. The interventions are run by different local organisations, and have provided over 75,000 in and out-of-school youth and commercial sex workers with preventive education. People retained the information given, are knowledgeable about how HIV is transmitted, and can name key preventive methods. They pass on the information to their friends. Commercial sex workers were empowered to support one another in negotiating for safer sex. The programme was supported by community members, leading to demand for condoms and for education on HIV/AIDS/STIs. One project gave support to pregnant girls, including health care and vocational training. A drawback in the programme has been the occasional delays in the supply of the educational materials to the peer educators.     

Fallout from Communism: The Role of Feminism in Fighting HIV/AIDS among Women in Russia

ABSTRACT

I have no political platforms. I don't like the system of rules the word ‘feminist’ implies.

—Roza Khatskelevich, New York Times, 2003     

Enhancing community-based organizations’ capacity for HIV/AIDS education and prevention

The catalytic potential of community-based organizations to promote health, prevent disease, and address racial, ethnic, and socio-economic disparities in local communities is well recognized. However, many CBOs, particularly, small- to medium-size organizations, lack the capacity to plan, implement, and evaluate their successes. Moreover, little assistance has been provided to enhance their capacity and the effectiveness of technical assistance to enhance capacity is likewise limited. A unique private–academic partnership is described that simultaneously conducted program evaluation and addressed the capacity needs of 24 CBOs funded by the Pfizer Foundation Southern HIV/AIDS Prevention Initiative. Assessments of key program staff members at 12 and 18 months after the initial cross-site program assessment survey indicated a significant improvement in the CBOs’ knowledge, skills, and abilities and a substantial reduction in their technical assistance needs for HIV/AIDS prevention. Full participation of CBOs in technical assistance and a concurrent empowerment evaluation framework were necessary to enhance prevention capacity.