Narrow Your Results

Strategy

Sections

Keywords

Places

Gray Ratings

Showing 121 - 140 of 245 Results for "South Africa"

Results

Interventions are needed to counter gender norms, such as those which value girls’ sexual ignorance and virginity, which place girls at risk for HIV transmission. [See also %{s:57}] Studies found that gender norms valued sexual ignorance of girls and therefore girls were at risk of HIV acquisition. Some studies found that women did not know anything about HIV until they became HIV-positive. Girls are taught to surrender power to meet cultural expectations of being a good girl or good woman. Boys derive status from having multiple sexual partners.
Mitigating Risk
1 study
Actions are needed to increase young people’s knowledge of when and where to access health services, including access to contraception and condoms. A UNESCO review found that young people lacked knowledge of where to access health services to meet their needs. Adolescents in numerous countries are sexually active, yet have low rates of contraceptive use. Adolescents need accurate detailed information about the level of risk of different sex acts (oral, genital and anal). Studies found that youth aged 15 to 24 were at high risk of either acquiring HIV or testing HIV-positive, yet less likely to report having been tested for HIV. Increased knowledge that HIV-positive infants can survive to adolescence is also needed so that these young people can get tested for HIV and access services. In some countries, HIV prevalence among both female and male adolescents who tested for HIV was as high as 16%. [See also Meeting the %{s:35}]
Increasing Access to Services
1 study
Increased efforts are needed to actively plan for screening and treating HIV-TB co-infection, particularly in antenatal clinics. A study found no planning for HIV-TB co-infection across all levels of the health care system. Other studies found separate services and no information for co-infected patients on the risks of co-infection, plus no screening and treatment of co-infection. [See also %{c:17}]
Tuberculosis
1 study
Changing the gender norms that can lead to increased risks of HIV such as those dictating multiple sexual partners, the use of violence, or drinking heavily for men and sexual ignorance, submissiveness and dependency for women and girls is a current challenge. Further well-evaluated interventions are needed and existing interventions need to be scaled up. Studies found that women were aware of being at risk for HIV yet felt they had no power to negotiate the terms of sex or to demand condom use. Studies found that both men and women thought multiple sexual partners for men to be an accepted norm in many countries. Media reinforced these gender stereotypes.
Transforming Gender Norms
1 study
Interventions are needed to support parents and caregivers on taking care of children living with HIV. Needs include information and training as well as combating stigma and discrimination against HIV-positive children.
Women and Girls
1 study
Interventions are urgently needed to help girls enroll (and stay) in school. [See also %{s:65}] Studies found that girls affected by HIV are more likely to be out of school, despite the protective factor of education in reducing the likelihood of HIV acquisition.
Orphans and Vulnerable Children
1 study
Improved integration is needed between maternal, sexual and reproductive health services and HIV treatment services. A study found that even though 11.6% of 1,369 pregnant women were eligible for ARV treatment based on their low CD4 counts prior to delivery and 6 % were eligible postpartum, these women were not integrated into ARV treatment programs; another study found high rates of HIV in STI patients.
Structuring Health Services to Meet Women’s Needs
1 study
Interventions are needed to improve quality of HIV treatment and care within health services. Studies found that guidelines for counseling were missing from facilities and that clients were referred for HIV testing and counseling in geographically distant locations based on donor preference.
Structuring Health Services to Meet Women’s Needs
1 study
Women, especially married women, ongoing education about the role of condoms in preventing HIV acquisition and transmission, along with condom negotiation skills. A study found that women did not believe that condoms reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Another study found that married women of alcoholic men are aware of risks of contracting HIV from their husbands but reported difficulty in negotiating condom use as well as violence.
Male and Female Condom Use
1 study
HIV prevention information and confidential services are needed for PWID receiving treatment for substance use. Increased skills training for HIV disclosure to sexual partners is needed. Despite high numbers of PWID who are HIV-positive, no HIV nor drug prevention programs focus on PWID. No national guidelines exist for drug treatment.
Women Who Use Drugs and Female Partners of Men Who Use Drugs
1 study
Sex education and condom promotion programs need to take into account the different motivations among young men and women for engaging in unsafe sex. Studies found that boys complained about reduced sensation with condoms to cover their fear of losing their erection when putting on a condom; girls believed that unsafe sex proved their love and trust in their partner
Mitigating Risk
1 study
Interventions are needed to bring men and women, youth and parents together to focus on the positive aspects of sexuality. Studies found sexual education focuses on disease, burdening girls with prohibitions, yet neglecting boys.
Mitigating Risk
1 study
Further efforts are needed to determine the optimal frequency of testing in order to minimize HIV transmission in a cost-effective way. In some settings, testing for acute infection is warranted which would require testing every three to six months. A study found that 12% of women and 10% of women who had reported testing HIV-negative were found to be seropositive one to two years later. Modeling studies have found that screening one time, annually, can be cost-effective and that yearly testing in a high incidence area found that potential high-risk transmission with high viral load could be reduced by yearly HIV testing.
HIV Testing and Counseling for Women
1 study
Further efforts are needed to ensure optimal counseling strategies and topics, with detailed information about accessing treatment and risk reduction. Studies found that women who went for an HIV test prior to marriage felt they did not need another HIV test for the duration of the marriage and that pre-test counseling was important. Providers do not feel comfortable asking about sexual practices. Studies have found that those who test HIV-negative engage in a high frequency of sexual risk behaviors.
HIV Testing and Counseling for Women
1 study
Legislation and enforcement of legislation that prohibits employment discrimination against people living with HIV is needed so that accessing HIV care is not seen as jeopardizing one's livelihood. Studies found that those who feared that they would lose their employment if found to be taking ARVs discontinued treatment.
Adherence and Support
1 study
Providers and those living with HIV need accurate information on how HIV is transmitted and how most effectively to reduce the likelihood of transmission among serodiscordant couples (or between those who do not know their sero-status), including those who wish to become pregnant – for their own health and that of their future children. [See also %{s:39}] Studies found that both providers and HIV serodiscordant couples were misinformed as to what factors increase the likelihood of HIV transmission.
Staying Healthy and Reducing Transmission
1 study
Further interventions providing HIV disclosure support are needed, particularly for women facing abandonment, violence, or other adverse events. [See also %{s:43}, %{c:11} and %{s:67}] Studies found many women faced abuse and abandonment upon disclosing their HIV status.
Meeting the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of Women Living With HIV
1 study
More effective and timely translation of new PMTCT policy into standard practice is needed.
Antenatal Care - Treatment
1 study
Further interventions are needed to help female OVCs reduce risky sexual behaviors and protect them from sexual violence. [See also %{s:73}] Studies found that female orphans had higher rates of early sexual debut and were more likely to have had coerced sex.
Mitigating Risk
1 study
Concerted efforts are needed to enable adolescents at risk to test confidentially for HIV and be immediately linked to services, with information on where and how to access services. Access to and update of HIV testing and counseling (HTC) by adolescents is significantly lower than for adults. One study found that adolescents who were tested through provider-initiated testing (the WHO standard) had higher loss to follow up if they tested HIV-positive than adolescents who were tested through voluntary testing and counseling (Lamb et al., 2014). HTC must, according to WHO, include consent, confidentiality, counseling, correct test results and connections to treatment, care and prevention services. A recent report found that no data exists for HTC among ages 10 to 14 (All in to End Adolescent AIDS, 2015c). Access to HTC for adolescents who inject drugs is particularly challenging. HTC clients also need counseling on contraception and referral to services.
Increasing Access to Services
1 study