Nomvo D Henda | Stellenbosch University (original) (raw)

Papers by Nomvo D Henda

Europe PMC (PubMed Central), 2007

... drug users. Since injecting drug users make up the majority of Iran&amp;#x27;s prison... more ... drug users. Since injecting drug users make up the majority of Iran&amp;#x27;s prison population, the government has also begun pilot projects to provide free needles in prisons and methadone therapy for treating addicts. Condoms were ...

SAHARA-J: Journal of Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS, 2006

The links between gender roles, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS risk are complex and culturall... more The links between gender roles, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS risk are complex and culturally specific. In this qualitative study we investigated how women and men in two black communities in the Western Cape, South Africa, constructed their gender identities and roles, how they understood gender-based violence, and what they believed about the links between gender relations and HIV risk. First we conducted 16 key informant interviews with members of relevant stakeholder organisations.Then we held eight focus group discussions with community members in single-sex groups. Key findings included the perception that although traditional gender roles were still very much in evidence, shifts in power between men and women were occurring. Also, genderbased violence was regarded as a major problem throughout communities, and was seen to be fuelled by unemployment, poverty and alcohol abuse. HIV/AIDS was regarded as particularly a problem of African communities, with strong themes of stigma, discrimination, and especially 'othering' evident. Developing effective HIV/AIDS interventions in these communities will require tackling the overlapping as well as divergent constructions of gender, gender violence and HIV which emerged in the study.

Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2006

Journal of Substance Use, 2006

... Research has shown that heavy use of alcohol is related to sexual risks for HIV transmission ... more ... Research has shown that heavy use of alcohol is related to sexual risks for HIV transmission in South Africa, but the nature of the association is not well understood (Morojele, Kachienga,Nkoko, Moshia, Mokoko, Parry, Nkowane & Saxena, 2004; Morojele, Kachienga, Mokoko ...

African Journal of AIDS Research, 2005

Despite good intentions and commitment from providers, prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission... more Despite good intentions and commitment from providers, prevention-of-mother-to-child-transmission of HIV (PMTCT) services can be difficult for pregnant women to access, despite the provision of free health services for women and children. We examined the introduction of PMTCT services in a very poor rural area of the Eastern Cape, South Africa, to assess the context&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#39;s impact on the provision of this service. Our approach involved 13 individual in-depth interviews and 26 focus group discussions, spread over six clinics in a single district, supplemented by situational observations. Our goal was to suggest how access to PMTCT services at the clinics may be improved. Poor roads, an underdeveloped transport system and poor telecommunications typify the pervasive poverty in the study area. Families have few resources for travel and most live a long distance from a clinic. Accessing emergency transport is especially difficult and expensive. Poor infrastructure also means that many families do not have access to clean water, which complicates the use of infant formula. PMTCT services had been recently added to several clinics that provide general services to the local population, but that were already understaffed and over-pressured. Since the PMTCT services were new, some elements of the intervention and staff training were delayed, thus inhibiting full implementation. New staff had not been added to ease accumulated pressures. Thus, socio-economic context can present a formidable barrier to the provision of PMTCT services. Improvement in services to rural areas will require creative thinking, perhaps including the use of mobile services and the development of community structures, such as contributions to community health education by traditional birth attendants and local volunteer groups.

Social Science & Medicine, 2007

AIDS stigmas interfere with HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment and can become internalized b... more AIDS stigmas interfere with HIV prevention, diagnosis and treatment and can become internalized by people living with HIV/AIDS. However, the effects of internalized AIDS stigmas have not been investigated in Africa, home to two-thirds of the more than 40 million people living with AIDS in the world. The current study examined the prevalence of discrimination experiences and internalized stigmas among 420 HIV positive men and 643 HIV positive women recruited from AIDS services in Cape Town, South Africa. The anonymous surveys found that 40% of persons with HIV/AIDS had experienced discrimination resulting from having HIV infection and one in five had lost a place to stay or a job because of their HIV status. More than one in three participants indicated feeling dirty, ashamed, or guilty because of their HIV status. A hierarchical regression model that included demographic characteristics, health and treatment status, social support, substance use, and internalized stigma significantly predicted cognitive-affective depression. Internalized stigma accounted for 4.8% of the variance in cognitive-affective depression scores over and above the other variables. These results indicate an urgent need for social reform to reduce AIDS stigmas and the design of interventions to assist people living with HIV/AIDS to adjust and adapt to the social conditions of AIDS in South Africa.

Academia Letters, 2021

AmaXhosa as a people The term 'the Xhosa', and 'AmaXhosa' are used interchangeably throughout the... more AmaXhosa as a people The term 'the Xhosa', and 'AmaXhosa' are used interchangeably throughout the article. The term Xhosa refers to the Indigenous Xhosa-speaking people of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. According to Hirst (1), the Xhosa occupied the Eastern Cape as far as 1593 and are of the Nguni group comprised of 3 additional tribes located outside the Eastern Cape such as the Ndebele, the Zulu and the Swati. AmaXhosa use rituals to negotiate a responsible relationship in the human community, with the ancestors, spirits, divinities and cosmos, (2) thus becoming a way of life. As subsets of culture, rituals carry meaning and a definite religious element-a link established between the present moment and original reality. (3) Rites of passage of the Xhosa Among the Xhosa speaking people children undergo different rituals through the process of enculturation during the rites of passage from infancy to adulthood as these rituals define them as a people. The rituals discussed include: i) efukwini (behind the door-birth rites); ii) tonjane (female puberty rites); and iii) ulwaluko(traditional male circumcision). Each rite follows one another in a sequence in three phases. This sequence is characterised by "leave and cleave" phenomenon, meaning that a person leaves the old life behind and is "re-incorporated," into society-which signifies embracing new life, and new ways of doing things.

Http Dx Doi Org 10 1080 09540120600984003, 2007

Sexual assault against women and HIV infection are both prevalent and related social problems in ... more Sexual assault against women and HIV infection are both prevalent and related social problems in South Africa. The current study examined hostile attitudes toward women, acceptance of violence against women and masculine ideological beliefs in relation to sexual assault history among men in a Cape Town township in South African. Men (n=435) completed anonymous surveys of sexual assault history, HIV risk history and gender-based attitudes. More than one in five men in this community sample reported that they had either threatened to use force or used force to gain sexual access to a woman in their lifetime. Men with a history of sexual assault were at significantly higher risk for HIV transmission than their non-sexually assaultive counterparts. Men with a history of sexual assault were also more likely to endorse hostile attitudes toward women and were more likely to accept violence against women, although these attitudes and beliefs were prevalent and pervasive across men with and without histories of sexual assault. These findings extend previous research to show that men who have a history of sexual assault also exhibit elevated risks for HIV infection and transmission. Interventions are needed to address hostile attitudes toward women, sexual assault and sexual risks for HIV among South African men.

AIDS Research and Treatment, 2010

This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study to investigate the challenges faced by p... more This paper presents the findings of an exploratory study to investigate the challenges faced by people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in communities in Cape Town, South Africa. The primary goal of the study was to gather data to inform the adaptation of a group risk reduction intervention to the South African context. Qualitative methods were used to examine the experiences of PLWHA. Eight focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with 83 HIV-positive participants and 14 key informants (KIs) involved in work with PLWHA were interviewed. Findings revealed that AIDS-related stigma was still pervasive in local communities. This was associated with the difficulty of disclosure of their status for fear of rejection. Also notable was the role of risky behaviours such as lack of condom use and that PLWHA considered their HIV/AIDS status as secondary to daily life stressors like poverty, unemployment, and gender-based violence. These findings have implications for the adaptation or develo...

South African Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Feb 8, 2008

Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town Introduction. Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) are ... more Human Sciences Research Council, Cape Town Introduction. Traditional birth attendants (TBAs) are still frequently utilised in rural areas in South Africa, even when mothers have access to formal health care facilities. Studies reveal that utilisation of TBAs can be beneficial in some contexts, with support and supervision from the Western health sector. Aim. To evaluate a training programme for TBAs on HIV/AIDS and safe delivery. Method. The study used a pre-post training evaluation design of 50 TBAs in two primary health care clinic areas in rural South Africa. Results. Most TBAs had some knowledge of risk signs during pregnancy. At follow-up assessment HIV/AIDS knowledge had significantly increased and HIV risk practices when assisting during a delivery had significantly decreased. Most TBAs were involved in HIV/sexually transmitted infection (STI) management such as risk assessment, risk reduction counselling, distribution of condoms, community education and home-based care. After the training significantly more TBAs conducted prenatal checkups , assessed the baby's position in the uterus and took the mother's and baby's pulse, and fewer TBAs conducted abnormal or complicated deliveries. Conclusion. Training of TBAs can increase their knowledge, improve their attitudes and reduce risk practices. TBAs need skilled and equipped available support to carry out basic preventive measures in the obstetric patient, anticipate and identify obstetric complications, administer nevirapine prophylaxis, and make appropriate and timely referrals backed up with efficient referral mechanisms to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality.

CADRE report, 2010

This study was conducted to support the development of a national campaign entitled ‘Social Mobil... more This study was conducted to support the development of a national campaign entitled ‘Social Mobilisation and Communication Strategy for the Prevention of Mother-to-Child
Transmission of HIV.’ The aim of study was to provide an evidence base for informing the development of communication and social mobilisation strategies to support increased PMTCT uptake and efficacy. The research consisted of two key activities: 1) a literature review to identify the main challenges and opportunities for PMTCT uptake, with a specific focus on communication approaches; and 2) fieldwork at five sites in South Africa: Maluti-a-Phofung in the Free State Province, Moretele in the North West Province, Senqu in the Eastern Cape Province, and Maphumulo and kwa-Nongoma in KwaZulu-Natal Province. These five pilot sites, identified as some of the worst-performing districts in terms of incidence of MTCT and uptake of PMTCT, were selected from a list of 18 priority districts named for intervention by the Department of Health (DoH).

This report begins by contextualising of the need to scale up efforts aimed at the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) by giving an overview of the situation in South Africa. It then provides an overview of a literature review which proposed a social ecological model for communication of PMTCT intervention programmes. The results section focuses on challenges and opportunities for communication of PMTCT services to various stakeholders,
such as women, male partners, health workers and the affected communities.