African Journal of AIDS Research 

About: African Journal of AIDS Research is an academic journal published by Taylor & Francis. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) & Population. It has an ISSN identifier of 1608-5906. Over the lifetime, 764 publications have been published receiving 11892 citations. The journal is also known as: African journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome research (Online) & AJAR (Online).

The mental health of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa: a systematic review

Abstract: This paper reviews published quantitative research on the mental health of HIV-infected adults in Africa. Twentyseven articles published between 1994 and 2008 reported the results of 23 studies. Most studies found that about half of HIV-infected adults sampled had some form of psychiatric disorder, with depression the most common individual problem. People living with HIV or AIDS (PLHIV) tended to have more mental health problems than non-HIV-infected individuals, with those experiencing less problems less likely to be poor and more likely to be employed, educated and receiving antiretroviral treatment (ART). Being female, experiencing poor health, receiving poor-quality health services, and a lack of material and emotional support from family and friends were associated with greater psychiatric morbidity. While some key findings emerged from the studies, the knowledge base was diverse and the methodological quality uneven, thus studies lacked comparability and findings were not equally robust. Furthermore, more rigorous research is needed to put mental health services for PLHIV in Africa on the healthcare agenda. Priorities for future research should include replicating findings regarding common mental health problems among PLHIV, important issues among HIV-infected women, and the longer-term mental health needs of those on ART. Research is also needed into predictors of mental health outcomes and factors associated with adherence to ART, which can be targeted in interventions.

Predicting the social consequences of orphanhood in South Africa

Abstract: This paper examines and questions the predictions found in the academic and policy literature of social breakdown in southern Africa in the wake of anticipated high rates of orphanhood caused by the AIDS epidemic Analysis of the logic underlying these predictions reveals four causal relationships necessary to fulfil such dramatic and apocalyptic predictions: High AIDS mortality rates will produce high numbers of orphans These orphans will become children who do not live in appropriate social environments to equip them for adult citizenship Poor socialisation will mean that children orphaned by AIDS will not live within society's moral codes (becoming, for example, street children or juvenile delinquents) Large numbers of such ‘asocial’ or ‘antisocial’ children will precipitate a breakdown in the social fabric Evidence for each of these steps in the argument is scrutinised using available data from southern Africa and other regions that have moved further through the epidemic's cycle The paper finds

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

Abstract: 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. In 2012 a total of 38 431 respondents were interviewed from 11 079 households; 28 997 (67.5%) of 42 950 eligible individuals provided blood specimens. HIV prevalence was 12.2% [95% CI: 11.4-13.1] in 2012 with prevalence higher among females 14.4% than males 9.9%. Adults aged 25-49 years were most affected, 25.2% [95% CI: 23.2-27.3]. HIV prevalence increased from 10.6% [95%CI: 9.8-11.6] in 2008 to 12.2% [95% CI: 11.4-13.1] in 2012 (p < 0.001). Antiretroviral treatment (ART) exposure doubled from 16.6% in 2008 to 31.2% in 2012 (p < 0.001). HIV incidence in 2012 among persons 2 years and older was 1.07% [95% CI: 0.87-1.27], with the highest incidence among Black African females aged 20-34 years at 4.5%. Sexual debut before 15 years was reported by 10.7% of respondents aged 15-24 years, and was significantly higher among male youth than female (16.7% vs. 5.0% respectively, p < 0.001). Reporting of multiple sexual partners in the previous 12 months increased from 11.5% in 2002 to 18.3% in 2012 (p < 0.001). Condom use at last sex dropped from 45.1% in 2008 to 36.2% in 2012 (p < 0.001). Levels of accurate HIV knowledge about transmission and prevention were low and had decreased between 2008 and 2012 from 31.5% to 26.8%. South Africa is on the right track with scaling up ART. However, there have been worrying increases in most HIV-related risk behaviours. These findings suggest that there is a need to scale up prevention methods that integrate biomedical, behavioural, social and structural prevention interventions to reverse the tide in the fight against HIV.

Gendered socioeconomic conditions and HIV risk behaviours among young people in South Africa

Abstract: Recent evidence suggests that the burden of new HIV infections in sub-Saharan Africa is concentrated among young people, especially females. Even in a country such as South Africa where knowledge among young people of how to protect oneself from infection is rather high, such information may not always be usable in daily situations of economic and social disadvantage that characterise many of their lives. Despite this possibility, there are surprisingly few definitive studies that examine the effects of socioeconomic status on HIV risk and prevention behaviours among youth in South Africa. Using household survey data collected in 2001, this study investigates how socioeconomic disadvantage has influenced the sexual behaviour and experiences of 4 000 young women and men aged 14–24 years in KwaZulu-Natal province — an area characterised by high HIV prevalence and high rates of poverty and inequality. Socioeconomic disadvantage, measured here as low relative household wealth, is found to be associated with a...

On the virgin cleansing myth: gendered bodies, AIDS and ethnomedicine.

Abstract: The belief that HIV/AIDS can be cured as a result of having sex with a virgin has been identified as a possible factor in the rape of babies and children in South Africa. While the prevalence of this myth has been a matter of concern in local communities for some time, there have been recent attempts to discern the extent to which this belief is exacerbating perceived increases in child rape and the rate of new HIV infections nationwide. This article attempts to reveal the systematic logic upon which is based the idea of 'virgin cleansing' as a therapeutic response to HIV/AIDS amongst the Zulu. Based on ethnographic research in several peri-urban settlements of KwaZulu-Natal province, key aspects of ethnomedical knowledge associated with notions of 'dirt' and women's bodies are examined along with the metaphors that inform local interpretations of HIV/AIDS. The author argues that closer attention paid to the shaping influence of cultural schemas are critical to better understanding belief-behaviour linkages in the context of rape and AIDS.