5 research outputs found
Attitudes of female street vendors towards HIV/AIDS in Vhembe district of South Africa
Background: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are still global health problems. This study was conducted to describe the attitudes of female street vendors (FSV) in Thohoyandou, Vhembe district, towards HIV/AIDS and those infected with the virus.Materials and methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Data were collected by means of a structured, self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20.0.Results: Majority (85.0%) of the participants had completed secondary education, 46.7% were single and 41.5% were aged 40 and above. Most of them (90.5%) indicated that they would accept to do a voluntary HIV test. Fear of stigmatization ranked highest among the reasons given by those not in favour of testing. Whilst 91.0% of the participants reported that they can stay in the same house with a person who is HIV positive and 88.5% said they would not have sex in exchange for money, only 57.5% indicated that they would agree to take antiretroviral drugs if they tested positive in pregnancy. The level of education was found to be significantly associated (p-value = 0.000) with the type of attitude shown towards HIV and those infected.Conclusion: It is recommended that HIV information providers and health workers in  outh Africa pay more attention to enlightening women about the importance of taking antiretroviral drugs in pregnancy to reduce the incidence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV.Keywords: Attitude; female street vendors; HIV/AIDS; health workers, antiretroviral drugs
ATTITUDES OF FEMALE STREET VENDORS TOWARDS HIV/AIDS IN VHEMBE DISTRICT OF SOUTH AFRICA
Background: The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are still
global health problems. This study was conducted to describe the attitudes of female street vendors (FSV) in
Thohoyandou, Vhembe district, towards HIV/AIDS and those infected with the virus.
Materials and methods: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was adopted. Data were collected by means of a
structured, self-administered questionnaire and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version
20.0.
Results: Majority (85.0%) of the participants had completed secondary education, 46.7% were single and 41.5% were
aged 40 and above. Most of them (90.5%) indicated that they would accept to do a voluntary HIV test. Fear of
stigmatization ranked highest among the reasons given by those not in favour of testing. Whilst 91.0% of the participants
reported that they can stay in the same house with a person who is HIV positive and 88.5% said they would not have sex
in exchange for money, only 57.5% indicated that they would agree to take antiretroviral drugs if they tested positive in
pregnancy. The level of education was found to be significantly associated (p-value = 0.000) with the type of attitude
shown towards HIV and those infected.
Conclusion: It is recommended that HIV information providers and health workers in South Africa pay more attention to
enlightening women about the importance of taking
antiretroviral drugs in pregnancy to reduce the incidence of mother-to-child transmission of HIV
PROPOSED GUIDELINES TO MINIMISE MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT TUBERCULOSIS TREATMENT DEFAULT IN A MULTI-DRUG RESISTANT UNIT OF LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA
Background: The increasing prevalence and incidence of Multi Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is as a result
of the defaulting of treatment by patients. Worldwide, several factors that contribute to patients defaulting to
tuberculosis treatment protocol have been identified. This paper aims to develop guidelines to minimise the defaulting
rate of MDR-TB patients in MDR unit of Limpopo Province.
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted using a qualitative approach. Tesch’s open coding method of data
analysis was adopted to analyse the data obtained. Reasoning strategies were employed in the development of the
guidelines. These include analysis, synthesis, deductive reasoning and inductive reasoning. Synthesis strategy was used
to construct relational statements.
Results: The factors contributing to patients’ default from MDR-TB treatment were identified and organized into four
themes. Guidelines were developed to address each factor and give recommendations on possible solutions.
Conclusion: The guidelines that were developed concluded that co-operation amongst the Department of Health, health
practitioners, patient, and family members can help in preventing the defaulting of treatment