HIV and/or AIDS awareness among adolescents in a South African at-risk rural community.

Background: The devastating effects of HIV and/or AIDS are widely documented. Despite ongoing efforts to address the challenges associated with the pandemic, the impact on children orphaned because of the disease, as well as on adolescents, remains problematic. More specifically, orphaned adolescents living in poverty are particularly vulnerable and are often exposed to, for example, emotional and physical abuse and transactional sexual exploitation.

Nutrition education practices of primary school teachers in a resource-constrained community in Gauteng, South Africa.

We investigated the nutrition education (NE) practices of teachers of grade 4‒7 learners in 11 primary schools (85% of total number) of the Bronkhorstspruit district (Gauteng Province) to identify opportunities for improving NE in these schools. A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among a convenient sample of the teachers (N = 73) using a structured nutrition education practice questionnaire. Descriptive data analysis was done.

Power-sharing Partnerships: Teachers' Experiences of Participatory Methodology.

Background: This article reports on the experiences of teachers as coresearchers in a long-term partnership with university researchers, who participated in an asset-based intervention project known as Supportive Teachers, Assets and Resilience (STAR). In an attempt to inform participatory research methodology, the study investigated how coresearchers (teachers) experienced power relations. We utilized Gaventa's power cube as a theoretical framework and participatory research as our methodologic paradigm.

A randomized clinical trial of an intervention to promote resilience in young children of HIV-positive mothers in South Africa.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy of an intervention designed to promote resilience in young children living with their HIV-positive mothers.

Design/methods: HIV-positive women attending clinics in Tshwane, South Africa, and their children, aged 6-10 years, were randomized to the intervention (I) or standard care (S). The intervention consisted of 24 weekly group sessions led by community care workers.

The role of parenting in affecting the behavior and adaptive functioning of young children of HIV-infected mothers in South Africa.

Prior investigations suggest that maternal HIV/AIDS poses significant challenges to young children. This study investigates the relationships between mothers' psychological functioning, parenting, and children's behavioral outcomes and functioning in a population of women living with HIV (N = 361) with a child between the ages of 6 and 10 years in Tshwane, South Africa. Utilizing path analysis, findings revealed that maternal depression is related to increased parenting stress and parent-child dysfunction, maternal coping is related to parenting style, and maternal coping, parenting style and stress, and parent-child dysfunction are associated with children's behavior and functioning, with parenting emerging as an important mediator.

Behavior and psychological functioning of young children of HIV-positive mothers in South Africa.

Adults with HIV are living longer due to earlier diagnosis and increased access to antiretroviral medications. Therefore, fewer young children are being orphaned and instead, are being cared for by parents who know they are HIV positive, although they may be asymptomatic. Presently, it is unclear whether the psychological functioning of these young children is likely to be affected or, alternatively, whether it is only when a mother is ill, that children suffer adverse effects.

Development and piloting of a mother and child intervention to promote resilience in young children of HIV-infected mothers in South Africa.

This paper describes the process of developing a parallel intervention for HIV-positive mothers and their young children (6-10 years) with a view to strengthening the relationship between them. Strong mother-child relationships can contribute to enhanced psychological resilience in children. The intervention was developed through action research, involving a situation analysis based on focus group discussions; intervention planning, piloting the intervention and a formative evaluation of the intervention.

Formative evaluation of the STAR intervention: improving teachers' ability to provide psychosocial support for vulnerable individuals in the school community.

The article describes the pilot phase of a participatory reflection and action (PRA) study. The longitudinal investigation explores teachers' ability to provide psychosocial support within the context of HIV/AIDS following an asset-based intervention. The study ensued from our desire to understand and contribute to knowledge about the changed roles of teachers due to adversity in the community, specifically in relation to HIV/AIDS and education.

Coping in an HIV/AIDS-dominated context: teachers promoting resilience in schools.

This paper explains how teachers in schools function as resources to buoy resilience in the face of human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome-compounded adversities. We draw on participatory reflection and action data from a longitudinal study with teachers (n = 57, 5 males, 52 females) from six schools in three South African provinces. The study tracks the psychosocial support offered by teachers following their participation in the Supportive Teachers, Assets and Resilience project.