Exploring the Impact of COVID-19 on Cervical Cancer Screening Services: A Qualitative Study of Healthcare Providers' and Women's Perspectives and Experiences.

A qualitative exploration was conducted to analyse the reasons behind the low utilisation of cervical cancer screening services in Gwanda district, Zimbabwe, focusing on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 5 focus group discussions with 36 women, utilising maximum variation sampling to explore the effects of COVID-19 on screening coverage. Additionally, in-depth interviews were conducted with 25 health-care providers from primary health facilities and the provincial hospital offering screening services.

Barriers to cervical cancer screening in Africa: a systematic review.

Introduction: Africa has one of the highest burdens of cervical cancer in the world. The unacceptably high incidence and mortality rates could be reduced through implementing a comprehensive approach to its prevention and control that includes screening, which however, is low in most low-and-middle-income countries. Hence, this systematic review aims at exploring factors that prevent women from utilising cervical cancer screening services in the region.

Women and health providers' perspectives on male support for cervical cancer screening in Gwanda district, Zimbabwe.

Several studies have shown that male involvement increases the uptake of sexual and reproductive health programmes for improved family health outcomes. The role of men in reducing the burden of cervical cancer has however not been researched in Zimbabwe. It is for this reason that this study explores male support for cervical cancer screening programmes from the perspective of women and health providers in the Gwanda district of Zimbabwe.

Living with someone else's penis: The lived experiences of two South African penile allograft recipients: A descriptive phenomenological study.

Background: In South Africa, penile loss is a recognised complication of ritual circumcision which has a profoundly negative effect on these men's psyches and their everyday lives. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the experiences of the first two South African penile allograft transplantation recipients in order to assess the psychosocial impact of this surgery.

Materials And Methods: A qualitative descriptive phenomenology approach was used.

Targeting for male medical circumcision: profiles from two South African cities.

Male circumcision is considered by some to be an acceptable global approach to reduce HIV infections. Consequently, many governments in sub-Saharan Africa run voluntary male circumcision programmes. South Africa also provides male circumcision for free at state clinics and hospitals.

"Please Don't Send Us Spam!" A Participative, Theory-Based Methodology for Developing an mHealth Intervention.

Background: Mobile health solutions have the potential of reducing burdens on health systems and empowering patients with important information. However, there is a lack of theory-based mHealth interventions.

Objective: The purpose of our study was to develop a participative, theory-based, mobile phone, audio messaging intervention attractive to recently circumcised men at voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC) clinics in the Cape Town area in South Africa.

Voice-Message-Based mHealth Intervention to Reduce Postoperative Penetrative Sex in Recipients of Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in the Western Cape, South Africa: Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: There is an increased risk of transmission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, in the postoperative period after receiving voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC). In South Africa, over 4 million men are being targeted with VMMC services but the health system is not able to offer quality counseling. More innovative strategies for communicating with and altering behavior in men and their partners in the postoperative period after VMMC are needed.

"What do You Mean I've Got to Wait for Six Weeks?!" Understanding the Sexual Behaviour of Men and Their Female Partners after Voluntary Medical Male Circumcision in the Western Cape.

Background: Several studies have shown that voluntary male medical circumcision (VMMC) reduces the incidence of the Type-1 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in heterosexual men by up to 60%. However, there is an increased risk of transmission of STIs, including HIV, in the immediate post-operative period after receiving VMMC. This study is to understand sexual practices of couples in the post-operative period in a Coloured population in the Western Cape Province of South Africa.

Do Assessments of HIV Risk Behaviors Change Behaviors and Prevention Intervention Efficacy? An Experimental Examination of the Influence of Type of Assessment and Risk Perceptions.

Background: Behavioral assessments may change behaviors and responses to behavioral interventions, depending on assessment type and respondents' motivations.

Purpose: We observed effects on sexual behavior and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention intervention efficacy of interviews assessing recent HIV risk behavior frequency or HIV risk behavior events among respondents with different perceptions of their risk for HIV.

Methods: Young South African sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic clients (N=1,728) participated in a 3 (event-based vs.

Safety-related moderators of a parent-based HIV prevention intervention in South Africa.

Our study examined factors influencing the effectiveness of a parent-based HIV prevention intervention implemented in Cape Town, South Africa. Caregiver-youth dyads (N = 99) were randomized into intervention or control conditions and assessed longitudinally. The intervention improved a parenting skill associated with youth sexual risk, parent-child communication about sex and HIV.

Perceived control and communication about sex: a study of South African families.

Caregiver-youth communication about sex protects youth against HIV/AIDS, and caregivers who believe that sex knowledge is important are more likely to talk to their youth about sex. However, caregivers who experience barriers to communication about sex may not talk to their youth about sex even if the caregiver believes that sex education is important. The Theory of Planned Behaviour predicts that an actor has perceived control is necessary for behavioural change.

Preliminary results from a family-based HIV prevention intervention for South African youth.

Objectives: Approximately 5.6 million South Africans are living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV; UNAIDS, 2010). Prevalence among Black adolescents and young adults is particularly alarming.

Let's Talk!, A South African worksite-based HIV prevention parenting program.

Purpose: South African adolescents have high HIV risk, yet few prevention interventions are effective. Parents play a pivotal role in youths' healthy sexual development and may be at risk themselves. We tested whether Let's Talk!, a worksite-based parenting program, improves parent-child communication about HIV and sexual health and parent condom use self-efficacy and behavior.

HIV misconceptions associated with condom use among black South Africans: an exploratory study.

In South Africa, approximately 20% of 15-49-year-olds are infected with HIV. Among black South Africans, high levels of HIV/AIDS misconceptions (e.g.

Associations of poverty, substance use, and HIV transmission risk behaviors in three South African communities.

The majority of the world's HIV infections occur in communities ravished by poverty. Although HIV/AIDS and poverty are inextricably linked, there are few studies of how poverty-related stressors contribute to HIV risk behavior practices. In this study, surveys were conducted in three South African communities that varied by race and socio-economic conditions: people living in an impoverished African township (N = 499); an economically impoverished but well infrastructured racially integrating township (N = 995); and urban non-impoverished neighborhoods (N = 678).

HIV prevalence in three predominantly Muslim residential areas in the Cape Town metropole.

Objective: To report on the results of a random and representative household survey of HIV prevalence in 3 predominantly Muslim areas in the Cape Town metropole.

Method: A cross-sectional representative community household survey was conducted in 3 residential areas. Aerial photographs were used in the selection of a random sample of 548 households, with the objective of obtaining an oral fluid sample and behavioural data from 2 inhabitants per household.

Development of a brief scale to measure AIDS-related stigma in South Africa.

Although there has been progress in AIDS stigma research, there are no multi-item AIDS stigma scales that have been shown reliable and valid in Africa. The current research reports the development of the nine-item AIDS-Related Stigma Scale. Research conducted in five South African communities (N = 2306) found the scale internally consistent, alpha = 0.