Health status, food insecurity, and time allocation patterns of patients with AIDS receiving antiretroviral treatment in South Africa.

For patients with AIDS receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART) in South Africa via public clinics, improvements in nutritional status and economic productivity are likely to depend on adherence to drug regimen and quality of diet reflected in protein and micronutrient intakes. This study randomized 643 patients receiving ART from public clinics in the Free State Province into a Control group, a treatment group receiving adherence support, and a treatment group receiving adherence support and a nutritious food supplement. The data on food insecurity levels and time spent on various activities were analyzed for assessing the impact of the intervention programs.

Mutual HIV status disclosure is associated with consistent condom use in public sector ART clients in Free State province, South Africa: a short report.

Risky sexual behaviour in PLWHA on antiretroviral therapy threatens both prevention and treatment efforts, but disclosure promises to support safer sexual practices. This paper investigates the association between HIV self-disclosure and consistent condom use in a cohort of public sector patients on antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Using data from the FEATS cohort study, logistic regression analysis shows that knowledge of your partner's HIV status is positively associated with consistent condom use (OR 2.

Who Should We Target? The Impact of Individual and Family Characteristics on the Expressed Need for Community-Based Treatment Support in HIV Patients in South Africa.

Reviews of impact evaluations of community-based health workers and peer support groups highlight the considerable variability in the effectiveness of such support in improving antiretroviral treatment (ART) outcomes. Evidence indicates that community-based support interventions targeting patients known to be at risk will probably display better results than generic interventions aimed at the entire population of people living with HIV. It is however difficult to identify these at-risk populations, rendering knowledge on the characteristics of patients groups who are in need of community-based support a clear research priority.

The Importance of the Family: A Longitudinal Study of the Predictors of Depression in HIV Patients in South Africa.

As a chronic illness, HIV/AIDS requires life-long treatment adherence and retention-and thus sufficient attention to the psychosocial dimensions of chronic disease care in order to produce favourable antiretroviral treatment (ART) outcomes in a sustainable manner. Given the high prevalence of depression in chronic HIV patients, there is a clear need for further research into the determinants of depression in this population. In order to comprehensively study the predictors of depressive symptoms in HIV patients on ART, the socio-ecological theory postulates to not only incorporate the dominant individual-level and the more recent community-level approaches, but also incorporate the intermediate, but crucial family-level approach.

The impact of community support initiatives on the stigma experienced by people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

In the current context of human resource shortages in South Africa, various community support interventions are being implemented to provide long-term psychosocial care to persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). However, it is important to analyze the unintended social side effects of such interventions in regards to the stigma felt by PLWHA, which might threaten the successful management of life-long treatment. Latent cross-lagged modeling was used to analyze longitudinal data on 294 PLWHA from a randomized controlled trial (1) to determine whether peer adherence support (PAS) and treatment buddying influence the stigma experienced by PLWHA; and (2) to analyze the interrelationships between each support form and stigma.

A peer adherence support intervention to improve the antiretroviral treatment outcomes of HIV patients in South Africa: the moderating role of family dynamics.

Given the severe shortage of human resources in the healthcare sector in many countries with high HIV prevalence, community-based peer adherence support is being increasingly cited as an integral part of a sustainable antiretroviral treatment (ART) strategy. However, the available scientific evidence on this topic reports discrepant findings on the effectiveness of peer adherence support programmes. These conflicting findings to some extent can be attributed to the lack of attention to the social contexts in which peer adherence support programmes are implemented.

Families as catalysts for peer adherence support in enhancing hope for people living with HIV/AIDS in South Africa.

Introduction: Hope is an essential dimension of successful coping in the context of illnesses such as HIV/AIDS, because positive expectations for the future alleviate emotional distress, enhance quality of life and have been linked to the capacity for behavioural change. The social environment (e.g.

Wording effects and the factor structure of the Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale in HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral treatment in South Africa.

Background: Given the immense burden of HIV/AIDS on health systems in sub-Saharan Africa and the intricate link between HIV/AIDS and mental health problems, health care providers need a valid and reliable instrument to assess mental health rapidly. The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) may constitute such an instrument. The aims of this study were to: (1) examine the factor structure of the HADS in a population of South African HIV/AIDS patients on antiretroviral treatment (ART); and (2) identify and control the disturbing influence of systematic wording effects in vulnerable respondent groups.

Who is accessing public-sector anti-retroviral treatment in the Free State, South Africa? An exploratory study of the first three years of programme implementation.

Background: Although South Africa has the largest public-sector anti-retroviral treatment (ART) programme in the world, anti-retroviral coverage in adults was only 40.2% in 2008. However, longitudinal studies of who is accessing the South African public-sector ART programme are scarce.