Challenges of HIV/AIDS education in a South African rural- based university (original) (raw)
Related papers
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
Background: South African communities have high rates of people living with HIV and AIDS. Universities, particularly those in rural regions are examples of communities noted to be high risk areas of these infections. HIV/AIDS strategies were developed and implemented by higher education institutions to address this concern. Despite this, the prevalence and incidence of HIV and AIDS remain high in academic settings. Yet studies in this area in South Africa are rare. Aim: This paper reports on a study that explored the perceptions of students and staff of the HIV/AIDS strategy of a rural-based university in South Africa. Method: Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was adopted. Data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews (n=12 student, n= 10 staff). The data were analysed thematically using Diekelmann, Allen & Tanner`s (1989) seven-stage framework of data analysis. Results: Three major themes emerged from the data analysis: HIV/AIDS services, management of HIV/AIDS services, and barriers to utilisation of HIV/AIDS services. Conclusion: Staff working in HIV/AIDS service requires training and support to enhance their skills, knowledge and adopt non-discriminatory practices.
Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery, 2015
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are making an impact in institutions of higher education. Studies have revealed that though few students and staff have been recorded to be suffering from HIV/AIDS, more have become ill and some have died in ways that signal the impact of HIV/AIDS. Universities can contribute to addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the preparedness of a South African rural-based university in addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS. A qualitative study design was followed, with one South African rural-based university as the case setting. Qualitative interviews were conducted stemming from the central research question, “How is the university addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and AIDS?†Following an open coding method of data ana...
HIV and Aids are making an impact in institutions of higher education. Studies have revealed that though few students and staff have been recorded as suffering from HIV/Aids, more have become ill and some have died in ways that signal the impact of HIV/Aids. Universities can contribute to addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and Aids. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the preparedness of a South African rural-based university in addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and Aids. A qualitative study design was followed, with one South African ruralbased university as the case setting. Qualitative interviews were conducted stemming from the central research question, ‘How is the university addressing the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and Aids?’ Following an open coding method of data analysis, three themes emerged relating to how the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and Aids were addressed: persistence stigma and discrimination, limited assurance to confidentiality, and inadequate treatment, care and support. Recommendations were made for improvement of service delivery to address the needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and Aids and further research should be conducted on a large scale to determine other needs and expectations of staff and students living with HIV and Aids at other South African rural-based universities and how they are addressed. Keywords: expectations, needs, preparedness, rural-based university, staff and students living with HIV and Aids
Staff and Students` Perception of an HIV/AIDS` Strategy:
Background: South African communities have high rates of people living with HIV and AIDS. Universities, particularly those in rural regions are examples of communities noted to be high risk areas of these infections. HIV/AIDS strategies were developed and implemented by higher education institutions to address this concern. Despite this, the prevalence and incidence of HIV and AIDS remain high in academic settings. Yet studies in this area in South Africa are rare. Aim: This paper reports on a study that explored the perceptions of students and staff of the HIV/AIDS strategy of a rural-based university in South Africa. Method: Hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was adopted. Data were collected using semi-structured individual interviews (n=12 student, n= 10 staff). The data were analysed thematically using Diekelmann, Allen & Tanner`s (1989) seven-stage framework of data analysis. Results: Three major themes emerged from the data analysis: HIV/AIDS services, management of HIV/AIDS services, and barriers to utilisation of HIV/AIDS services. Conclusion: Staff working in HIV/AIDS service requires training and support to enhance their skills, knowledge and adopt non-discriminatory practices. Keywords: hermeneutic phenomenology, HIV/AIDS strategy, rural-based university, perceptions, South Africa
The Open Public Health Journal, 2020
Background:Although there is evidence that education is a social weapon in the fight against HIV/AIDS, there is also evidence that, to date, HIV/AIDS is not fully integrated into all the disciplines in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Therefore, most of the university students in South Africa are not well prepared to be HIV/AIDS-competent graduates who can live and work in a society ravaged by AIDS.Objective:This study sought to analyse the extent of HIV/AIDS integration into the curricula in various departments at a selected university in the Limpopo Province, South Africa.Materials and Methods:The study used quantitative and qualitative approaches to analyse the extent of HIV/AIDS integration into the curricula. The curriculum calendars were retrieved from the university website. An audit tool guided retrieval of HIV/AIDS content and was analysed using SPSS V 25. The qualitative content analysis was used to describe the nature of HIV/AIDS content.Results:Out of eight schools,...
Knowledge of Students regarding HIV/AIDS at a Rural University in South Africa
The Open AIDS Journal
Introduction: Knowledge about HIV/AIDS is essential for facilitating safer sexual behaviour hence, it is important in controlling HIV. Therefore, in the absence of a cure for the pandemic, adequate knowledge about the virus remains the backbone of prevention efforts. Objective: To assess the knowledge regarding HIV/AIDS among undergraduate students at a rural university in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive quantitative survey-based study was conducted at a rural-based university in South Africa. Stratified random sampling was used to select 345 students. A self-administered questionnaire composed of 26 questions was utilised to gather data and the data were analysed using SPSS version 26. Multiple logistic regression and chi-square tests [χ2] were employed to determine the association between HIV/AIDS knowledge and demographic variables. Results: The overall HIV/AIDS knowledge score of students shows that (74)21% had a poor level of knowledge, (1...
The current framework for integrating HIV/AIDS into university curriculum is mainly informed by the need to make HIV/AIDS education relevant to specific disciplines, and to equip graduates with necessary skills to respond to HIV/AIDS in their professional capacities. This strategy mainly emphasizes content and knowledge and largely ignores the current context in which students live and make sexual decisions. This paper explores the opportunities for utilizing multidisciplinary, and participatory integrated HIV/AIDS education programmes to address sexual risk-taking and students' vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS within their university campuses. It examines students' preferences regarding development and implementation of HIV/AIDS programmes based on the findings of a PhD study conducted at three universities in KwaZulu-Natal province. Data was obtained through a questionnaire survey involving 1400 students, and in-depth interviews with 24 students and three HIV/AIDS coordinators drawn from across the three universities. Non-participant observations were also conducted at each of the three universities. Study findings indicate that participatory programmes and those that have an entertainment component demonstrate currency within student communities. Students rejected the didactic approach undertaken by some communication programmes with some participants arguing that " young people don't want be told what to do ". A comparative semiotic analysis of HIV/AIDS posters within university campuses revealed a huge disparity between posters designed by students and those obtained from national communication campaigns. The choice of imagery and semantic codes differed significantly. The paper suggests the adoption of a Freirian pedagogical methodology in implementing an integrated and multidisciplinary HIV/AIDS education programmes so as to generate conditions in which students are able to reflect on their own realities and personalize the risk of HIV infection. HIV/AIDS Impact on the Day-toDay Activities in South African Universities The education sector is regarded as the " best hope for survival " against HIV/AIDS due to its leadership role in research and knowledge development (MacGregor, 2001). Educational institutions possess both the human capacities and resources that place them at a better position to contribute in the management of the HIV/AIDS epidemic (Kelly, 2000). Education also equips individuals with a better understanding of the epidemic and the skills to protect themselves against HIV infection. Some studies have shown a negative correlation between education levels and HIV prevalence rates, with higher levels of infection being found among the less educated people (Vandemoortele & Delamonica, 2000; World Bank, 2002). Nevertheless, the most profound effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are felt in the education sector (Coombe, 2000). Diminishing population growth rates have raised fears that the pool of applicants and range of abilities among candidates could drastically reduce in the near future (Van der Merwe & Gouws, 2005). The proliferation of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and the child-headed households has also led to a significant increase of learners dropping out of school thus further complicating the situation in the education sector (Rispel, Letlape, & Metcalf, 2006; Van der Merwe & Gouws, 2005). The epidemic has dealt a double blow to higher education sector through its devastating effect on both the university community – composed of staff and students – and the general population that the universities interact with and from which they draw their staff and students (Kelly, 2001). Quality and quantity of production has been compromised by the increasing morbidity and mortality rates within universities due to HIV/AIDS (Raijmakers & Pretorius, 2006). Also, loss of qualified academic, administrative and support staff has led to the depletion of the skilled and experienced staff hence affecting the output from universities (Rispel et al., 2006; Van der Merwe & Gouws, 2005). Researchers have also predicted a decline in admission and an increase in drop-out rates and in time taken to complete studies in the higher education sector as a result of HIV/AIDS
2013
This thesis investigated perceptions of HIV/AIDS at the Walter Sisulu University (WSU), situated in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The study focused on understanding opinions related to HIV/AIDS using data derived from interviews with twenty HIV/AIDS key role players from across the entire institution, and twenty students at the Institute for Advanced Tooling (IAT), a postgraduate section of the Mechanical Engineering Department in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology (FSET) in Chiselhurst, East London. A key concern of the study was to examine the way in which local cultural beliefs and practices may shape understandings in relation to HIV/AIDS and to help inform more sensitive prevention campaigns in the future. The study, methodologically utilising Denzin's concept of interpretative interactionism, and Giddens' structuration theory, found that there was no single 'cultural belief' regarding health or related issues, but that cultural beliefs were always expressed in personal and contextual ways. The investigation into nutrition, health and general well-being and perceived causes of HIV/AIDS revealed that research informants subscribed to cultural beliefs for different reasons in personal constructs, and the study concluded that cultural issues surrounding these factors would need to be socially debated in intervention efforts. Perceptions of gender, as the most significant factor, were highly contested, with differing beliefs expressed regarding female sexual agency. It was further stated by research informants that the ABC approach lacked contextual consideration of environmental factors. The thesis therefore argues that for effective preventative action, there is a necessity, firstly, for a health-enabling environment to be created that includes strategies for alleviating nutritional deficiencies in a culturally contextual fashion. Second, based on the data, it was established that in relation to respondents' orientation towards cultural beliefs, social HIV/AIDS debate programmes should be introduced in conjunction with health officials, the community and traditional healers in a peer-oriented approach. It was thirdly established that this approach should include addressing contextual factors from a 'lived experience' perspective, and that social positioning by the WSU should occur towards certain social issues (for example, constructions of gender) identified within this study.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 2014
The HIV/AIDS has emerged through the last three decades as the most devastating epidemic humankind has ever faced. In the Eastern Cape, HIV/AIDS is rife and the forecast is that HIV/AIDS will have devastating effects among university students unless they change their sexual-behaviour. This research study attempted to highlight the socio-cultural factors which are responsible for HIV/AIDS transmission within the University of Fort Hare with the aim to mobilize and actively involve the students into practicing safe sex. The findings revealed that traditional male circumcision, dry sex, traditional practices, patriarchy, patterns of sexual relationships and drug and alcohol abuse, spread the HIV/AIDS transmission. By means of action research, the collaboration that existed among the professional nurses at the Health Care Center and a team of dedicated Psychology lecturers revealed that the campaigns and workshops which advocate healthy sexual practices could have the propensity to the decline of sexually transmitted infections. The recommendations are that; during welcome-parties for the firstyear students and other social events within the campus, the Health Center must be open to access condoms. Furthermore, since these functions take place on weekends in most cases, field workers should be redeployed to distribute condoms.