scholarly journals Online search trend reveals declining interest in AIDS-related searches relative to HIV-related searches in South Africa (v.3)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Babatunde Okunoye
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Aids Pandemic ◽  
The World ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

BACKGROUNDThe Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is a leading cause of mortality on the African continent and world. HIV and AIDS are among the greatest public health challenges confronting health authorities around the world, with Nigeria and South Africa having the greatest incidence of the disease in the world. There is little research into how Africans meet their health information needs on HIV/AIDS online, and this research gap impacts programming and educational responses to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. METHODSData on search trends on HIV and AIDS for South Africa was found using the search terms ‘’HIV’ and ‘’AIDS’’ (categories: health, web search), on Google Trends. This was compared with data on estimated adults and children living with HIV, and AIDS-related deaths in South Africa, the Joint United Nations programme on HIV/AIDS, and also with search interest in the topics ‘’HIV’’ and ‘’AIDS’’ on Wikipedia Afrikaans, the most developed local language Wikipedia service in South Africa. Nonparametric statistical tests were conducted to support the trends and associations identified in the data.RESULTS Google Trends shows a statistically significant decline in search interest for AIDS relative to HIV in South Africa. This trend mirrors progress on the ground in South Africa, significantly associated with a decline in AIDS-related deaths and people living longer with the HIV virus. This trend was also replicated on Wikipedia Afrikaans, where there was a greater interest in HIV than AIDS.LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDYThis paper reports on how in general, interest in search terms ‘’HIV’’ and ‘’AIDS’’ mirrors the decline in AIDS cases and the increase in people living with HIV in South Africa. Nevertheless, there is an acknowledgement that the population of health information seekers on HIV/AIDS online may be quite different from the offline population. For instance, not everyone living with HIV/AIDS may be connected online or use search engines, and there is a difference in the number of people connected to the Internet over the years of the study 2004 – 2019. Hence, this paper is not an exact mapping of the online behaviour of all the people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa. CONCLUSIONThis observed trend might be an indicator that multilateral efforts at combating HIV/AIDS, particularly through awareness raising and behavioural interventions in South Africa is bearing fruit, not just on the ground, but also reflected in the online information seeking on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A major obstacle to combating the impacts of disease in developing countries is the paucity of high-quality health data, particularly understanding the health information needs of people. Without understanding people’s everyday concerns, health organizations and policymakers are less able to effectively target education and programming efforts for all gender and age-groups. The information needs of people, and their everyday concerns are often expressed via search engine queries as millions go online to meet health information needs.

scholarly journals An Afro-Christian ministry to people living with HIV/Aids in South Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 61 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matsobane J. Manala
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
World View ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Raising Awareness ◽  
Aids Pandemic ◽  
Persons Living With Hiv ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
The Church ◽  
Hiv Aids

The HIV/Aids pandemic is cause for great frustration to the developing countries in their attempts to improve the quality of life of their citizens. HIV/Aids in South Africa demands a specific approach to the Christian ministry in which the African world-view is acknowledged. In order for the church to play a relevant and meaningful role in combating the HIV/Aids pandemic, it is necessary that the church should be informed of the existential situation of persons living with HIV/Aids. This information is vital for raising awareness and engendering sensitivity among Christians. In the context of such awareness of and sensitivity to human pain and suffering, the community of the faithful should be moved to heed Christ’s call to show neighbourly love. The possible role of the church in caring for those who are already infected with HIV is defined.

Reflections on the Church and HIV/AIDS

2005 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverley Haddad
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Church Leaders ◽  
Contextual Theology ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Aids Pandemic ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
The Church ◽  
Care Support ◽  
Hiv Aids

The church in South Africa faces a new challenge—the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which claims the lives of people in its communities and congregations every day. Until recently, the church remained silent or, worse still, adopted a theology that contributed to the stigma and discrimination faced by those who are HIV-positive. Increasingly, this theology is being questioned, as church leaders take a more positive public stance on education, prevention, care, support, and lobbying for treatment. Yet a mainstream, contextual theology that acknowledges and supports people living with HIV/AIDS, offering them Christian hope and acceptance, still remains to be formulated for South Africa.

Educating the Heart: Fostering Hope Through Theatre in the AIDS Crisis in South Africa

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan Ward
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
International Development ◽  
Healing Process ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Aids Crisis ◽  
Theatrical Representation ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
International Development Studies ◽  
Hiv Aids

With approximately 5.3 million people living with HIV/AIDS, South Africa has the highest HIV­ prevalence rate in the world. HIV tends to strike the most vulnerable people in society, and is often associated with high risk behaviours, which inevitably leads to stigmatization. Through an integration of theatre and development theory, I propose to investigate the potential of using theatre as a community event that raises awareness of collective issues and that offers new hope to people living with HIV. I suggest that theatre can educate the heart and put a human face on HIV/AIDS, thus catalyzing a healing process at the community level. By targeting township youth, those who are currently driving the virus, an interactive theatre style, such as participatory methodology, can effectively move beyond didactic education. In participatory theatre, the target group is incorporated into the theatrical representation of their circumstances through the performance of personal testimonies associated with HIV. Here, the power of theatre lies in its ability to produce individual reactions in the audience, which ultimately result in a collective experience and elevated consciousness through the discussion that ensues. The community is thus empowered to engage in a new ap proach to HIV/AIDS. Can such a performance prevent further infections by exposing the consequences and realities of living with AIDS? While a test­case would be ideal in the affirmation of these ideas, I hope to bring a new approach to community theatre through a combination of theories from both theatre and international development studies.

Socio-cultural Factors affecting People Living with HIV/AIDS Attendance at Hawassa and Yirgalem Hospital ART Clinics, South Ethiopia. Quantitative and Qualitative Mixed Approach.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alemante A Ayalew ◽  
Zeytu G Asfaw ◽  
Solomon A Lemma
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Cultural Factors ◽  
Complete Healing ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Care Givers ◽  
The World ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

Abstract Background: HIV/AIDS pandemic seriously ravaged the world for the past three decades. It left the world with full of complicated social, economic and political problems. The problem has continued as major health problems for most developing countries, including Ethiopia. Socio-cultural practices which are predominantly determining the life of most of these peoples have structured the spread of HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study was to investigate how socio-cultural factors are affecting patients' adherence at ART clinics in Hawassa and Yirgalem Referral Hospitals. Methods: Qualitative and quantitative designs were used to collect the data. Results: The findings have shown that for fear of stigma and discrimination at family and community levels forced patients' affected adherence at ART clinics. People living with HIV were forced to travel long distance to get rid of social exclusion and isolation that resulting in drug interruptions and drop outs. The findings have also shown that most of the followers of protestant religion make believe that HIV could be cured and boycotted them from taking ART drugs. Moreover, confidentiality of information about HIV positive children living with care givers and newly tested patients found to be resistant to start or continue their drugs. Sense of wellbeing elicited form long term ART drugs effects made patients to imagine complete healing thereby dropping their treatment. Conclusions: The findings made clear that multidimensional socio-cultural factors structure and restructure adherence problems at the ART clinics in the study hospitals. Interventions targeting to change socio-cultural factors play crucial roles to prevent and control new infections, occurrence of drug resistant strains, and social and economic repercussions in the society.

‘What will it take’: addressing alcohol use among people living with HIV in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 1049-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
K Sorsdahl ◽  
NK Morojele ◽  
CD Parry ◽  
CT Kekwaletswe ◽  
N Kitleli ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Alcohol Use ◽  
Brief Intervention ◽  
Hiv Treatment ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Screening And Brief Intervention ◽  
Treatment Services ◽  
Living With Hiv

Given that hazardous and harmful alcohol use has been identified as a significant barrier to adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in South Africa, alcohol reduction interventions delivered within HIV treatment services are being investigated. Prior to designing and implementing an alcohol-focused screening and brief intervention (SBI), we explored patients’ perceptions of alcohol as a barrier to HIV treatment, the acceptability of providing SBIs for alcohol use within the context of HIV services and identifying potential barriers to patient uptake of this SBI. Four focus groups were conducted with 23 participants recruited from three HIV treatment sites in Tshwane, South Africa. Specific themes that emerged included: (1) barriers to ART adherence, (2) available services to address problematic alcohol use and (3) barriers and facilitators to delivering a brief intervention to address alcohol use within HIV care. Although all participants in the present study unanimously agreed that there was a great need for SBIs to address alcohol use among people living with HIV and AIDS, our study identified several areas that should be considered prior to implementing such a programme.

The Validity of the Substance Abuse and Mental Illness Symptom Screener (SAMISS) in People Living with HIV/AIDS in Primary HIV Care in Cape Town, South Africa

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 1133-1141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erica Breuer ◽  
Kevin Stoloff ◽  
Landon Myer ◽  
Soraya Seedat ◽  
Dan J. Stein ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Substance Abuse ◽  
Mental Illness ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Hiv Care ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

scholarly journals Respons Orang Hidup Dengan HIV AIDS (OHIDHA) Dalam Upaya Penanggulangan HIV AIDS di Kabupaten Sukoharjo dan Grobogan

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Arrum Firda Ayu Maqfiroch ◽  
Zahroh Shaluhiyah
Keyword(s):  
Univariate Analysis ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
P Value ◽  
People Living With Hiv ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Status ◽  
Keywords Aids ◽  
Living With Hiv ◽  
Hiv Aids

ABSTRAKPenanggulangan HIV AIDS membutuhkan keterlibatan dari berbagai pihak. Salah satu pihak yang terlibat adalah OHIDHA. OHIDHA merupakan anggota keluarga yang hidup bersama ODHA dan memberikan dukungan kepada ODHA. Stigma di Kabupaten Sukoharjo dan Grobogan masih tinggi. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui faktor-faktor apakah yang menentukan respons OHIDHA dalam upaya penanggulangan HIV AIDS di Kabupaten Sukoharjo dan Grobogan.Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kuantitatif dengan pendekatan cross sectional. Teknik pengambilan data kuantitatif melalui wawancara dengan kuesioner. Penelitian ini didukung dengan penelitian kualitatif dengan teknik pengambilan data FGD. Jumlah responden adalah 92 OHIDHA, proporsi 50% dan selang kepercayaan 95%. Analisis data menggunakan analisis univariat dengan distribusi frekuensi, bivariat menggunakan Chi-Square dan multivariat menggunakan regresi logistik.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel yang berhubungan dengan respons OHIDHA adalah hubungan dengan ODHA (p-value=0,001), lama hidup dengan ODHA (p-value=0,030), lama mengetahui status ODHA (p-value=0,001) dan sikap (p-value=0,005). Hasil analisis multivariat menunjukkan bahwa sikap (p-value=0,006) merupakan variabel yang mempunyai pengaruh paling signifikan dibanding variabel lainnya.Kata Kunci : OHIDHA, respons, Grobogan, Sukoharjo Respons of People Living With HIV AIDS to Control HIV and AIDS in Sukoharjo and Grobogan District; Controlling HIV and AIDS requird the involvement of various sector. One of the sector involved is People Living With HIV AIDS (PLWHA).  PLWHA is a family member who lives with people living with HIV and provide support to people living with HIV. Stigma in Sukoharjo and Grobogan still high. This study aims to determine the factors that determine whether the PLWHA response in control to HIV and AIDS in Sukoharjo Grobogan. This research was a quantitative study with cross sectional approach. Quantitative data collection techniques through interviews with questionnaires . This research was supported by qualitative research with FGD. The number of respondents was 92 PLWHA, the proportion of 50% and 95% confidence interval . Analysis of the data using univariate analysis with frequency distribution, bivariate using Chi-Square and multivariate using logistic regression. The results showed that the variables related to the PLWHA response is a relationship with people living with HIV ( p = 0,001 ) , long life with people living with HIV ( p = 0.030 ) , longer know the status of PLWHA ( 0.001 ) and attitude ( p = 0.005 ). Multivariate analysis showed that the attitude (p value = 0,006) was a variable that has the most significant effect compared to other variables .Keywords : AIDS , response , Grobogan , Sukoharjo

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