Opportunities for technology-based HIV prevention programming among high school students in Cape Town, South Africa.

One in three new cases of HIV in South Africa is among adolescents. Given that adolescents are particularly affected, scalable, and cost-effective prevention programs are urgently needed. This study aims to identify opportunities to integrate technology into youth HIV prevention efforts.

Exploring the relationships among food insecurity, alcohol use, and sexual risk taking among men and women living in South African townships.

South African townships have among the highest rates of HIV infection in the world. Considerable research on understanding the high rates of HIV transmission in this country has identified alcohol use as a critical factor in driving the HIV epidemic. Although the relationship between alcohol use and sexual risk-taking is well documented, less is known about how other factors, such as food insecurity, might be important in understanding alcohol's role in sexual risk-taking.

Randomized community-level HIV prevention intervention trial for men who drink in South African alcohol-serving venues.

Background: South African alcohol-serving establishments (i.e., shebeens) offer unique opportunities to reduce HIV risks among men who drink.

Collective efficacy and HIV prevention in South African townships.

South African townships have high HIV prevalence and a strong need for collective action to change normative sexual risk behaviors. This study investigated the relationship between perceptions of individuals about collective efficacy in the community's ability to prevent HIV and their personal HIV risk behaviors. Men (n = 1,581) and women (n = 718) completed anonymous surveys within four Black African Townships in Cape Town, South Africa from June 2008 to December 2010.

Bringing it home: community survey of HIV risks to primary sex partners of men and women in alcohol-serving establishments in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Concurrent sexual relationships facilitate the spread of HIV infection, and sex with non-primary partners may pose particularly high risks for HIV transmission to primary partners.

Objective: We examined the sexual and alcohol-related risks associated with sex partners outside of primary relationships among South African men and women in informal drinking establishments.

Methods: Men (n=4959) and women (n=2367) with primary sex partners residing in a Xhosa-speaking South African township completed anonymous surveys.

Condom negotiation, HIV testing, and HIV risks among women from alcohol serving venues in Cape Town, South Africa.

Background: Women in South Africa are at particularly high-risk for HIV infection and are dependent on their male partners' use of condoms for sexual risk reduction. However, many women are afraid to discuss condoms with male partners, placing them at higher risk of HIV infection.

Purpose: To examine the association between fear of condom negotiation with HIV testing and transmission risk behaviors, including alcohol use and sexual risks among South African women.

HIV risks associated with patronizing alcohol serving establishments in South African Townships, Cape Town.

Alcohol use has been closely linked with HIV risk behaviors in South Africa. The places where people drink are often the same settings in which they meet new sex partners and may contribute independently to sexual risk. This current study examines the independent effects of patronizing alcohol serving establishments (shebeens) and alcohol use in predicting HIV risk behaviors.

Patterns of alcohol use and sexual behaviors among current drinkers in Cape Town, South Africa.

Objective: This study examined the association between alcohol use and sexual behaviors among South African adults who reported current drinking.

Method: Street-intercept surveys were administered to adults residing in neighborhoods in a South African township.

Results: Analyses were restricted to participants reporting current drinking (N=1285; mean age=32; 27% women; 98% Black).

A brain-behaviour initiative for South Africa: the time is right.

Background: Many have advocated for science and health research in developing world settings. However, there has been less focus on the value of basic and clinical neuroscience research in this context. The current paper focuses on the relevance of a brain-behaviour research initiative in South Africa.