Aborting and suspending pregnancy in rural Tanzania: an ethnography of young people's beliefs and practices.

The World Health Organization estimates that 3.1 percent of East African women aged 15-44 have undergone unsafe abortions. This study presents findings regarding abortion practices and beliefs among adolescents and young adults in Tanzania, where abortion is illegal.

Barriers to spectacle use in Tanzanian secondary school students.

Purpose: Screening school students for refractive errors is a component of many primary eye care programs. In 2004 a trial of two approaches of spectacle-delivery to Tanzanian secondary school students found that only one third of students were using their spectacles at three months. Barriers to spectacle use were investigated using questionnaires and focus group discussions.

Circumcision among adolescent boys in rural northwestern Tanzania.

Objective: Male circumcision reduces risk of HIV among heterosexual men by about 60%. Modelling the impact of circumcision on HIV transmission, and planning service expansion, relies on self-reported circumcision status. We investigated the validity of self-reported status.

'The man who believed he had AIDS was cured': AIDS and sexually-transmitted infection treatment-seeking behaviour in rural Mwanza, Tanzania.

Most people living with AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa have had neither a biomedical diagnosis nor antiretroviral medication, leading to the question of how individuals understand and treat AIDS. This study examined general illness, sexually-transmitted infection (STI) and AIDS treatment-seeking behaviour in rural Mwanza, Tanzania. From 1999-2002, participant observation was carried out in nine villages for a total of 158 person-weeks.

'She was bewitched and caught an illness similar to AIDS': AIDS and sexually transmitted infection causation beliefs in rural northern Tanzania.

HIV/AIDS programmes and interventions are more likely to succeed if they engage with local people's beliefs about AIDS causation. This study examined beliefs about general illness, sexually-transmitted infection (STI) and AIDS aetiology in rural Mwanza, Tanzania. From 1999-2002, participant observation was carried out in nine villages for a total of 158 person-weeks.

Contradictory sexual norms and expectations for young people in rural Northern Tanzania.

There has been a long-running debate as to whether sexual cultures in sub-Saharan Africa are permissive or characterised by restrictive rules, rituals and self-restraint. This paper, based on participant observation data, outlines the main features of sexual culture in rural northern Tanzania and highlights both permissive and restrictive norms and expectations for young people. It also illustrates how sexual beliefs are socially constructed and subject to social change.