Why Me? Challenges Associated With Recruiting Participants for a Study Focusing on “Wealthy Men”: Reflections From Fieldwork Conducted in Tanzania

It is well-known that conducting research with elite groups presents a range of unique methodological challenges including gaining access to and recruiting a demographic group that is underrepresented if not entirely absent from most research. This issue is particularly pronounced when the research topic is sensitive or potentially politicized and conducted in low-income settings in which large wealth inequalities are apparent. Drawing on recent experiences from fieldwork conducted in Tanzania that aimed to explore attitudes toward HIV testing among wealthy men, we reflect on significant challenges in the recruitment process. These included the framing of the research project, the (often unspoken) politicized subtext of the (sensitive) research, the socioeconomic climate, and the navigation of time requirements. Our experiences suggest that a careful consideration of these methodological issues will help researchers recruit elite participants and ensure that data are collected from appropriate samples

HIV testing attitudes and practices amongst 'wealthy men': qualitative evidence from Tanzania

Evidence from nationally representative surveys conducted in sub-Saharan Africa shows that significant proportions of men in the wealthiest quintile report never having tested for HIV. Despite high prevalence rates in this quintile, no research has been conducted on the HIV testing attitudes and practices of wealthier men. This article reports findings from qualitative research conducted with 23 wealthy men in Tanzania. Whilst wealthy men reported barriers to and enablers of HIV testing previously reported by the general population, concerns around loss of social status and community standing were amplified for members of this demographic. Furthermore, HIV stigma among members of this group remains high. However, enhanced access to HIV testing through private clinics, regular healthcare appointments, health insurance schemes and the means to travel to other countries enables wealthy men to avoid stigma. In settings such as the workplace, wealthy men were able to test in public in their roles as ‘leaders’ to encourage others to test. Future interventions to increase testing amongst men should target settings in which these leadership roles can be taken advantage of. HIV services also need integrating into the health system to remove the need for testing and treatment to be accessed at separate clinics

A win-win scenario? Employers’ responses to HIV in Tanzania: A qualitative study

Workplaces have been increasingly promoted as key sites for HIV interventions, with cost-benefit analyses employed to demonstrate the financial benefits to employers for implementing workplace HIV programmes. In these analyses, the potential costs of having HIV positive employees are weighed against the costs of the workplace programmes. Despite evidence that shows some firms have saved significant sums of money through these interventions, the general response from the private sector has been limited, with most positive case studies originating from high prevalence settings. This article reports findings from qualitative fieldwork conducted in Tanzania with private and public sector employers that aimed to understand how HIV was addressed in their organisations. Our findings suggest that HIV is not generally a serious issue, and hence HIV interventions are primarily ad-hoc with few formal HIV workplace programmes. We also found that in cases where compulsory testing programmes were implemented, employees did not turn up for testing and thus lost access to employment. Our findings suggest that relying on workplace programmes in lower prevalence settings is no substitute for investment in public health systems. Employer interventions should emphasise education and awareness, condom distribution and the promotion and provision of self-testing kits

A mixed methods evaluation of the largescale implementation of a school- and community-based parenting program to reduce violence against children in Tanzania: a study protocol

Despite the rapid dissemination of parenting programs aiming to reduce and prevent violence against children (VAC) worldwide, there is limited knowledge about and evidence of the implementation of these programs at scale. This study addresses this gap by assessing the quality of delivery and impact of an evidencebased parenting program for parents/caregivers and their adolescent girls aged 9 to 14—Parenting for Lifelong Health Teens (PLH-Teens), known locally as Furaha Teens—on reducing VAC at scale in Tanzania. The study will explore participating family and staff perspectives on program implementation and examine factors associated with implementation and how implementation quality is associated with intervention outcomes when the program is delivered to approximately 50,000 parent-child dyads (N = 100,000) in schools and community centers across eight districts of Tanzania

COREQ checklist.

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IDI researchers guide EmpResp SWHL REV2 final: Interview guide in Swahili.

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Characteristics of organisations in the sample.

Characteristics of organisations in the sample.</p

IDI researchers guide EmpResp ENG REV2 final: Interview guide in English.

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