Risks and protective behaviors of adolescents living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana.

HIV and AIDS are a major problem in Botswana. Studies have revealed that they have mostly affected young people, most of whom will have been infected with HIV during their teenage years. The prevalence among young people aged 15-24 is 16.

The symptom experience of people living with HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa.

This study describes the symptom experience of 743 men and women living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland. Data were obtained in 2002 by using a cross-sectional design. A survey of participants included 17 sociodemographic items and the 64-item Revised Sign and Symptom Checklist for Persons with HIV Disease.

Quality of life and the concept of "living well" with HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

Purpose: To increase understanding of the meaning of quality of life for people living with HIV/AIDS in four countries in sub-Saharan Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland.

Methods: Using a cross-sectional design and convenience sample, we administered a survey and collected data on demographic characteristics, measures of severity of illness, and perceptions of quality of life. The purposefully selected sample (N=743) consisted of community-based people living with HIV/AIDS in 2002.

HIV/AIDS symptom management in Southern Africa.

We describe self-reported strategies used by persons living with HIV/AIDS in Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, and Swaziland to manage common HIV-related symptoms. A questionnaire asked participants to list three to six symptoms they had recently experienced, the care strategies they had used to make them better, where they had learned the strategy, and to rate the perceived effectiveness of the strategy. Data were collected in 2002 from 743 persons.