Dual protection among South African women and men: perspectives from HIV care, family planning and sexually transmitted infection services (original) (raw)

Setting The research took place in two separate regions in South Africa: an urban setting in Cape Town, Western Cape and a rural setting near Umtata (Mthatha) in the former Transkei region of the Eastern Cape. This allowed exploration of the key research questions in two very different health care systems, each facing unique challenges: the extremely busy, urban township clinics of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, and the less developed, rural clinics outside of Umtata. In each region, two facilities were selected to participate in research. Each facility provides a range of primary care services. For this research, participants were recruited from HIV care services, family planning services, and STI services only. In Cape Town, the sites were local authority clinics and in Umtata, the sites were Community Health Centers operated by the local authority. Facilities were selected in consultation with provincial / local health care officials based on the following criteria: (a) the degree to which they are typical of primary care clinics in the area, (b) the preference of provincial officials to avoid over-researched facilities, and (c) adequate patient volumes to ensure efficient data collection. Research collaboration In addition to providing insights from different urban and rural settings, the two-province design of the research built on existing collaborations between the School of Public Health at the University of Cape Town and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of the Transkei (now Walter Sisulu University). This partnership provided a unique opportunity to examine the issues related to DP practices and promotion in two very distinct settings.