Research outputs

HIV-positive pregnant women who drink put their children at risk of both HIV and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. The province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) has the highest prevalence of HIV in South Africa, but has not before been considered an area of high alcohol consumption among women. This paper analyzes a large sample of HIV+ pregnant women in KZN to examine alcohol consumption in that popula...

The aim of this study was to investigate traditional and alternative therapy for mental illness in Jamaica: patients' conceptions and practitioners' attitudes. The sample included 60 psychiatric patients selected from Ward 21 at the University of the West Indies, Kingston as well as Princess Margaret outpatient clinic, and 30 Afro-centric psychiatric nurses, psychiatrist and clinical psychologi...

The prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV has been focused mainly on women who are HIV positive at their first antenatal visit, but there is uncertainty regarding the contribution to overall transmission from mothers who seroconvert after their first antenatal visit and before weaning. A mathematical model was developed to simulate changes in mother-to-child transmission of ...

This study aims to assess trends in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence in South Africa, and to assess the extent to which prevention and treatment programmes have reduced HIV incidence. Two models of the South African HIV epidemic, the STI (sexually transmitted infection) HIV Interaction model and the ASSA2003 AIDS and Demographic model, were adapted. Both models were fitted to age-sp...

Hypertension and obesity are increasingly becoming a common problem among adolescents in South Africa. The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between obesity and hypertension in school-going adolescents in Limpopo, South Africa. A total of 1114 school-going black Africa adolescents (505 boys and 609 girls) were randomly selected from grades 7 to 12. Obesity was measured using body...

Tanzania is one of African countries that have since 1983 been facing the human immuno-deficiency virus-acquired immune- deficiency syndrome (HIV-AIDS) pandemic, thereby, drawing attention to the general public, the governmental and non-governmental organizations and government's partner development agencies. Due to few socioeconomic studies done so far to evaluate the impact this pandemic, a ...

Lead exposure remains high in South Africa. Environmental lead exposure has been associated with behaviour problems in childhood and adolescence. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between blood lead levels and socio-behavioural problems among young adolescents in the Birth to Twenty cohort (Bt20). The uniquely South African Bt20 cohort started in 1989 and is a long-t...

We examined associations of birth weight and weight gain in infancy and early childhood with type 2 diabetes (DM) risk in five cohorts from low- and middle-income countries. Participants were 6,511 young adults from Brazil, Guatemala, India, the Philippines, and South Africa. Exposures were weight at birth, at 24 and 48 months, and adult weight, and conditional weight gain (CWG, deviation from ...

This study examined the association of alcohol use and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in a clinic population in South Africa. Methods: A probability sample of 1532 (56.4% men and women 43.6%) patients from different hospital outpatient departments completed the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test and the social functioning (SF)-12 Health Survey. Physical and Mental Health Component...

Background: HIV voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) reduces high-risk sexual behaviour. Factors associated with HIV infection in VCT clients have not been well characterized in South Africa. Objectives: A case-control study was carried out to determine the association between socio-demographic and HIV risk variables and HIV infection among people visiting HIV counseling and testing cente...

In studies conducted with African and Asian cohorts researchers have shown the clinical efficacy of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in resource-limited settings. However, studies on the longer term changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) with patients receiving ART in these settings are still scarce. The aim in this study was to assess HIV patients' HRQoL, clinical, psychosocial, and soc...

A significant proportion of those initiating antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV infection are lost to follow-up. Causes (includingHIV symptoms, quality of life, depression, herbal treatment and alcohol use) for discontinuing ART follow-up in predominantly ruralresource-limited settings are not well understood. This is a prospective study of the treatment-naive patients recruited from three ...

The aim of this study was to assess the predictors of the receipt of a disability grant (DG) status and the impact of the DG on health outcomes of HIV patients and on antiretroviral therapy (ART) in a longitudinal study over 20 months in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Consecutive patients, 735 (29.8%males and 70.2% females), who attended three HIV clinics completed the assessments (with a structu...

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and identify associations between suicidal ideation and indicators of psychosocial distress and social-environmental factors in Thai adolescents. Using data from the Thailand Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2008, we assessed the prevalence of suicidal ideation and its associated factors among adolescents (N = 2,758). Overall ...

In African countries, the biggest killers of young children are respiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease, and both are preventable via hand washing. Regular tooth brushing, at least twice a day, is one of the most effective methods for the control and prevention of dental caries and periodontal diseases. Both these oral diseases are infectious diseases (caused by bacteria) and thus can be ...

For alcohol drinkers in South Africa it has been found that annual consumption per drinker is among the highest in the world. High prevalence rates of hazardous and harmful alcohol use have also been found in a hospital out-patient setting in South Africa. Hospital settings are a particularly valuable point of contact for the delivery of brief interventions because of the large access to patien...

The conference addressed a critical question: "Are we turning the tide on HIV and AIDS? The social, political and economic landscape of HIV/AIDS". A range of presentations was made across the six conference sub-themes, namely: HIV/AIDS and Human Rights, MARPs (Most at Risk Populations), HIV Prevention, Accessibility, Uptake and Adherence to Treatment, Political Accountability in the AIDS Respon...

HIV prevalence among adults ages 15-9 in Lesotho was estimated at 23.2 percent in 2008, the third highest in the world. That year, an estimated 270,000 people were living with HIV in the country, and 60 died each day from AIDS complications. The practice of concurrent sexual partnerships or 'concurrency' (UNAIDS 2009) is considered to be linked to between 32 percent and 59 percent of all new HI...

The HIV prevalence rate among adults aged 15-49 in Lesotho was estimated at 23.2% in 2008 (Khobotle et al, 2009), making it the third highest in the world. It is estimated that there are around 270,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country, with 60 people dying every day from AIDS complications. Evidence suggests that Multiple Concurrent Partnerships (MCP) constitute a significant driver ...

The risk factors associated with non-vertical transmission of HIV/AIDS have not been identified conclusively, and further empirical research is needed to identify them. In a review of published evidence on HIV prevalence in paediatric health care settings in Africa, risks for horizontal transmission in African children exposed to health care settings mainly depend on the viral load, the specifi...

The phenomenon of population ageing has become more significant in South African society during recent decades, with the cohort aged 50 years or older increasing noticeably in both percentage and number. The social, economic and political consequences of population ageing have thus become a significant factor to be taken into account in all planning aspects of policies and programmes. This is p...

At the end of the apartheid era, research relating to the nature and extent of use of drugs other than alcohol and tobacco among the general adult population in South Africa was virtually nonexistent. President Nelson Mandela, in his 1994 opening of parliament signalled alcohol and drug abuse as a problem among the social pathologies that needed to be combated. An unacceptable increase in sub...

No child should be born with HIV; no child should be an orphan because of HIV; no child should die due to lack of access to treatment, urged Ebube Sylvia Taylor, an 11-year-old born free of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), to world leaders gathered in New York to share progress made toward achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. So begins the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV...

Building a strong foundation for healthy development in the early years of life is a prerequisite for individual well-being, economic productivity, and harmonious societies around the world. Growing scientific evidence also demonstrates that social and physical environments that threaten human development (because of scarcity, stress, or instability) can lead to short-term physiologic and psych...

Background: Optimizing initial antiretroviral therapy (ART) regimens is critical in improving the durability of treatment efficacy and patient prognosis. Reasons for and risk factors relating to the need for ART modifications were evaluated in an outpatient cohort in Mbabane, Swaziland. Methods: We examined routine clinical data for 782 patients initiating first-line ART between 1 March 2006 a...

The purpose of this study was to understand capacity challenges in implementing HIV/AIDS services by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Gaborone, Botswana. A qualitative study was conducted among 50 systematically selected CSOs using a semi-structured interview schedule and record review. Results indicate a profile for the CSO activities including support services such as Voluntary Counselli...