Recent Submissions

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    The association between perceived household educational support and HIV risk in young women in a rural South African community (HPTN 068): A cross sectional study
    (PLoS One, 2019-01-17) Price, J; Pettifor, A; Selin, A; Wagner, R.G; MacPhail, C; Agyei, Y; Gómez-Olivé, F.X; Kahn, K
    Objective: To characterise perceived household support for female education and the associations between educational support and HIV prevalence, HSV-2 prevalence and sexual risk behaviours. Methods: This cross-sectional study used baseline survey data from the Swa Koteka HPTN 068 trial undertaken in Mpumalanga, South Africa. The study included 2533 young women aged 13-20, in grades 8-11 at baseline. HIV and HSV-2 status were determined at baseline. Information about patterns of sexual behaviour and household support for education was collected during the baseline survey. Linear regression and binary logistic regression were used to determine associations between household support for education and both biological and behavioural outcomes. Results: High levels of educational support were reported across all measures. HIV prevalence was 3.2% and HSV-2 prevalence was 4.7%, both increasing significantly with age. Over a quarter (26.6%) of young women reported vaginal sex, with 60% reporting condom use at last sex. The median age of sexual debut was 16 years. Household educational support was not significantly associated with HIV or HSV-2; however, the odds of having had vaginal sex were significantly lower in those who reported greater homework supervision (OR 0.82, 95%CI: 0.72-0.94), those who engaged in regular discussion of school marks with a caregiver (OR 0.82, 95%CI: 0.71-0.95) and when caregivers had greater educational goals for the young woman (OR 0.82, 95%CI: 0.71-0.96). In contrast, greater caregiver disappointment at dropout was significantly associated with reported vaginal sex (OR 1.29, 95%CI: 1.14-1.46). Conclusion: Young women in rural South Africa report experiencing high levels of household educational support. This study suggests that greater household educational support is associated with lower odds of having vaginal sex and engaging in risky sexual behaviour, though not with HIV or HSV-2 prevalence.
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    Regional and sex-specific variation in BMI distribution in four sub-Saharan African countries: The H3Africa AWI-Gen study
    (Taylor and Francis, 2019-01-17) Ramsay, M; Crowther, N.J; Agongo, G; Ali, S.A; Asiki, G; Boua, R.P; Gómez-Olivé, F.X; Kahn, K; Khayeka-Wandabwa, C; Mashinya, F; Micklesfield, L; Mukomana, F; Nonterah, E.A; Soo, C; Sorgho, H; Wade, A.N; Wagner, R.G; Alberts, M; Hazelhurst, S; Kyobutungi, C; Norris, S.A; Oduro, A.R; Sankoh, O; Tinto, H; Tollman, Ste
    Background: African populations are characterised by diversity at many levels including: demographic history, genetic ancestry, language, wealth, socio-political landscape, culture and behaviour. Several of these have a profound impact on body fat mass. Obesity, a key risk factor for cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, in the wake of the epidemiological and health transitions across the continent, requires detailed analysis together with other major risk factors. Objective: To compare regional and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) distributions, using a cross-sectional study design, in adults aged 40-60 years across six study sites in four sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries and to compare the determinants of BMI at each. Methods: Anthropometric measurements were standardised across sites and BMI calculated. Median BMI and prevalence of underweight, lean, overweight and obesity were compared between the sexes and across sites. Data from multivariable linear regression models for the principal determinants of BMI were summarised from the site-specific studies. Results: BMI was calculated in 10,702 participants (55% female) and was significantly higher in women than men at nearly all sites. The highest prevalence of obesity was observed at the three South African sites (42.3-66.6% in women and 2.81-17.5% in men) and the lowest in West Africa (1.25-4.22% in women and 1.19-2.20% in men). Across sites, higher socio-economic status and educational level were associated with higher BMI. Being married and increased dietary intake were associated with higher BMI in some communities, whilst smoking and alcohol intake were associated with lower BMI, as was HIV infection in the regions where it was prevalent. Conclusion: In SSA there is a marked variation in the prevalence of obesity both regionally and between men and women. Our data suggest that the drive for social upliftment within Africa will be associated with rising levels of obesity, which will require the initiation of targeted sex-specific intervention programmes across specific African communities.
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    Impairment in activities of daily living, care receipt, and unmet needs in a middle-aged and older rural South African population: Findings from the HAALSI study
    (SAGE Journals, 2019-01-02) Harling, G; Payne, C.F; Davies, J.I; Gomez-Olive, F.X; Kahn, K; Manderson, L; Mateen, F.J; Tollman, S.M; Witham, M.D
    Objectives: The objective of this study is to analyze the degree to which care needs are met in an aging rural African population. Method: Using data from the Health and Aging in Africa: Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community (HAALSI) baseline survey, which interviewed 5,059 adults aged older than 40 years in rural South Africa, we assessed the levels of limitations in activities of daily living (ADLs) and in unmet care for these ADLs, and evaluated their association with sociodemographic and health characteristics. Results: ADL impairment was reported by 12.2% of respondents, with the proportion increasing with age. Among those with ADL impairment, 23.9% reported an unmet need and 51.4% more a partially met need. Relatives provided help most often; formal care provision was rare. Unmet needs were more frequent among younger people and women, and were associated with physical and cognitive deficits, but not income or household size. Discussion: Unmet care needs in rural South Africa are often found among individuals less expected to require care.
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    Reflecting critically on the researcher-participant encounter in focus groups: Racialized interactions, contestations and (re)presentations of South Africa’s “protest culture”
    (Taylor & Francis, 2019-02-16) Cornell, J; Malherbe, N; Suffla, s; Seedat, M
    South Africa has a considerable history of public protest from which a contemporary “culture of protest” has emerged. Despite the wide-ranging body of research on protest in South Africa, few studies have considered critically the discursive space in which researchers and participants are embedded. In this article, we use discursive psychology to examine reflexively how South African protesters discursively contest, (re)produce, and negotiate South Africa’s culture of protest in the presence of their comrades and researchers. Our analysis focuses on the making of “protest culture,” discursive resistance in the research setting, and the effect of researcher silence. We conclude by calling for protest researchers to remain sensitive to power differentials operating in research settings, while establishing a discursive space within these settings wherein participants feel heard and researchers do not attempt to mute their presence to achieve “neutrality”.
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    Engaging men to support women in science, medicine, and global health
    (PubMed, 2019-02-09) Ratele, K; Verma, R; Cruz, S; Khan, A.R
    No abstract..

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