Seroprevalence survey of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody and associated factors in South Africa: Findings of the 2020-2021 population-based household survey.

Population-based serological testing is important to understand the epidemiology and estimate the true cumulative incidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to inform public health interventions. This study reports findings of a national household population SARS-CoV-2 serosurvey in people 12 years and older in South Africa. This cross-sectional multi-stage random stratified cluster survey undertaken from November 2020 to June 2021 collected sociodemographic data, medical history, behavioural data, and blood samples from consenting participants.

The HIV care continuum for sexually active transgender women in three metropolitan municipalities in South Africa: findings from a biobehavioural survey 2018-19.

Background: Despite high HIV prevalence in transgender women in sub-Saharan Africa, to our knowledge no study presents data across the HIV care continuum for this population in the region. The aim of this study was to estimate HIV prevalence and present data to develop the HIV care continuum indicators for transgender women in three South African metropolitan municipalities.

Methods: Biobehavioural survey data were collected among sexually active transgender women in the metropolitan municipalities of Johannesburg, Buffalo City, and Cape Town, South Africa.

Geographical variation in HIV testing in South Africa: Evidence from the 2017 national household HIV survey.

Background: Identification of the geographical areas with low uptake of HIV testing could assist in spatial targeting of interventions to improve the uptake of HIV testing.

Objectives: The objective of this research study was to map the uptake of HIV testing at the district level in South Africa.

Method: The secondary analysis used data from the Human Sciences Research Council's 2017 National HIV Prevalence, Incidence, Behaviour and Communication Survey, where data were collected using a multistage stratified random cluster sampling approach.

Socio-economic differences in the uptake of HIV testing and associated factors in South Africa.

Background: Improved understanding of barriers to HIV testing is important for reaching the first of the UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets, which states that 90% of HIV positive individuals ought to know their HIV status. This study examined socio-economic status (SES) differences in HIV testing uptake and associated factors among youth and adults 15 years and older in South Africa.

Methods: This study used data from a national cross-sectional, population-based household survey conducted in 2017 using a multi-stage sampling design.

The Health Stigma and Discrimination Framework: a global, crosscutting framework to inform research, intervention development, and policy on health-related stigmas.

Stigma is a well-documented barrier to health seeking behavior, engagement in care and adherence to treatment across a range of health conditions globally. In order to halt the stigmatization process and mitigate the harmful consequences of health-related stigma (i.e.

Socio-demographic and behavioural profile of women in polygamous relationships in South Africa: a retrospective analysis of the 2002 population-based household survey data.

Background: The prevalence and effect of polygamous relationships may have serious reproductive and /or health consequences for women. In South Africa, unlike in other sub-Saharan countries, no nationwide survey has investigated polygamy except for the 2002 HIV/AIDS population-based household survey. The aim of this study was to profile socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics associated with women in polygamous relationships in South Africa using the 2002 survey data.

Alcohol Use, Socioeconomic Status and Risk of HIV Infections.

The present study investigated the associations among alcohol use, socioeconomic status (SES), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, in the South African context. It was hypothesized that SES (predictor; measured as median split asset score) and alcohol use in the past 12 months (predictor) would interact such that current drinkers of low SES would be at an increased risk of testing HIV-positive (outcome). Nationally representative, cross-sectional survey data from 2005 (N = 16,110), 2008 (N = 13,055), and 2012 (N = 25,979) were analyzed using multinomial regression models.

The role of alcohol use in antiretroviral adherence among individuals living with HIV in South Africa: Event-level findings from a daily diary study.

Objective: Using daily diary methods, we aimed to test the hypothesis that at the event-level consuming alcohol increases the likelihood that antiretrovirals (ARV) will be missed on a particular day.

Methods: This prospective cohort study of 74 (52 female, 22 male) people living with HIV (PLHIV) in South Africa collected event-level data on ARV adherence and alcohol consumption using structured daily phone interviews over a period of 42days generating 2718 data points. We used generalized estimating equations (GEE) analyses to assess univariate and multivariate associations between alcohol and adherence, controlling for sociodemographics and testing for effect modification.

HIV Risk Among Men Who Have Sex With Men, Women Who Have Sex With Women, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Populations in South Africa: A Mini-Review.

Background: The HIV epidemic in South Africa is characterized mainly by heterosexual transmission. Recently, the importance of targeting key populations and marginalized groups, including men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender people, has been added to the national agenda.

Objectives: This mini-review explores the current state of empirical research on HIV risk and MSM, women who have sex with women (WSW), lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) populations in South Africa in order to assess the current state of research and identify gaps in the literature.

New insights into HIV epidemic in South Africa: key findings from the National HIV Prevalence, Incidence and Behaviour Survey, 2012.

This article presents key findings from the 2012 HIV prevalence, incidence and behaviour survey conducted in South Africa and explores trends in the HIV epidemic. A representative household based survey collected behavioural and biomedical data among people of all ages. Chi-squared test for association and formal trend tests (2002, 2005, 2008 and 2012) were used to test for associations and trends in the HIV epidemic across the four surveys.

HIV Serostatus Disclosure to Sexual Partners Among Sexually Active People Living with HIV in South Africa: Results from the 2012 National Population-Based Household Survey.

This paper explores the prevalence and correlates of HIV seropositive status disclosure to sexual partners by people living with HIV (PLHIV) in South Africa. Secondary analysis of the 2012 South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence and Behaviour Survey was conducted on data obtained from 934 sexually active PLHIV aged 15 years and older who responded to the question about HIV seropositive status disclosure. Overall, a large majority of respondents (77.

Alcohol Expectancies and Inhibition Conflict as Moderators of the Alcohol-Unprotected Sex Relationship: Event-Level Findings from a Daily Diary Study Among Individuals Living with HIV in Cape Town, South Africa.

Literature from sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere supports a global association between alcohol and HIV risk. However, more rigorous studies using multiple event-level methods find mixed support for this association, suggesting the importance of examining potential moderators of this relationship. The present study explores the assumptions of alcohol expectancy theory and alcohol myopia theory as possible moderators that help elucidate the circumstances under which alcohol may affect individuals' ability to use a condom.

Mediators of behavior change resulting from a sexual risk reduction intervention for STI patients, Cape Town, South Africa.

Theory-based sexual risk reduction interventions are often demonstrated effective, but few studies have examined the mechanisms that mediate their behavior changes. In addition, critical contextual factors, such as alcohol use, are often not accounted for by social cognitive theories and may add to the explanatory value of intervention effects. The purpose of this study is to examine the underlying mechanisms driving condom use following a brief sexual risk reduction intervention grounded in the information, motivation, behavioral skills (IMB) model of behavior change.

Perceptions about the acceptability and prevalence of HIV testing and factors influencing them in different communities in South Africa.

HIV counselling and testing (HCT) is considered important because it is an entry point to a comprehensive continuum of care for HIV/AIDS. The South African Department of Health launched an HCT campaign in April 2010, and this reached 13,269,746 people by June 2011, of which 16% tested HIV positive and 400,000 of those were initiated into antiretroviral treatment. The overall objective of this project was to gain insight into the general perceptions about HIV testing in the different South African communities.

Alcohol use disorder, contexts of alcohol use, and the risk of HIV transmission among South African male patrons of shebeens.

Background: Shebeens in South Africa are settings in which alcohol use and sexual behavior often co-occur. The prevalence of alcohol use disorder (AUD), and the association between AUD, situations and settings, and sexual risk behavior, in shebeens remains unknown.

Methods: Men (n=763; mean age=30; 98% Black African) were recruited from townships in Cape Town, South Africa and completed a self-administered survey that assessed alcohol use, sexual risk behaviors, and situations and settings of alcohol use.

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.

Covariates of condom use in South Africa: findings from a national population-based survey in 2008.

Condom use has increased significantly over the past decade among all adult age groups in South Africa, and it is widely believed to have played a major role in the recent significant decline in HIV incidence in the country, especially among young people. This study investigated the demographic, behavioural and psychosocial correlates of condom use at last sex among a national random probability sample of sexually experienced respondents aged 15 years and older (n = 7817, 42.9% males and 57.

HIV testing is associated with increased knowledge and reductions in sexual risk behaviours among men in Cape Town, South Africa.

HIV testing benefits those who test positive, allowing them to receive treatment, but the benefits for those who test negative remain controversial. We evaluated the impact of testing on HIV knowledge and sexual risk among men in South Africa. Men were recruited from townships outside Cape Town and completed a survey that assessed testing history, knowledge, and sexual behaviours.

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.

Prevalence of knowledge and use of the female condom in South Africa.

Male condoms remain a key tool in preventing the spread of HIV and the female condom (FC) holds similar potential. Using data collected through a national cross-sectional population survey that was conducted in 2008, this report investigated the national prevalence of FC knowledge and use by sexually active males and females (n = 7,727) over the age of 15 years in South Africa, followed by a closer examination of the sexually active female population alone. Though knowledge of the FC among sexually active females over the age of 15 years (n = 4,551) was relatively high at 77.

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.

Does perceived life stress mediate the association between HIV status and alcohol use? Evidence from adults living in Cape Town, South Africa.

South Africa has the highest prevalence of HIV in the world. Because living with HIV is stressful and because alcohol consumption is often used to cope with stress, we examined whether stress mediates the association between HIV status and alcohol use among adults residing in South African townships. Field workers approached pedestrians or patrons of informal alcohol-serving venues (i.

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.