Article Review: Mobilization of Community Members to Improve Uptake Rates for HIV Treatment
Article Abstract
The study objective: A study by Leddy et al. [1] assessed HIV service uptake rates for a trial study of community mobilization initiative that focused on various social barriers in South Africa.
Background or context of the research: The authors cite the increase in recent efforts to improve the level of service uptake for HIV care in South Africa, but there remains a lack of timely research concerning which gender norms are most relevant in adversely affecting these rates.
Study design and method: This qualitative study used an inductive-deductive approach to analyze a series of 55 interviews of community members and intervention staff that were conducted during the closing months of a 3-year project in a rural South African province.
The principal conclusions and/or the results of the study: The results of this study determined that there are some specific strategies that clinicians can use to improve the uptake rate of HIV services by individuals in a rural South African community, including most especially directly addressing structural barriers and challenging gender norms that limit the accessibility of HIV services [1].
Keywords: HIV, South Africa, gender, service uptake, community mobilization
Introduction:
Statement of the Problem: Given that South Africa remains the largest epicenter of HIV globally, here is an urgent need to identify and implement custom-designed interventional strategies that take into account specific culture-based gender norms that currently limit the uptake of HIV services.
Purpose of the Study; The purpose of the Leddy et al. study was to evaluate the effectiveness of community mobilization initiative that was designed to improve the acceptance of HIV services by men and women in a rural South African community. The HIV-uptake improvement initiative, Tsima (or, loosely, Working together), included both women and men, and was implemented over the course of 3 years in a rural South African community in Mpumalanga province. In sum, this qualitative study sought to assess whether and how relevant gender norms were shifting, and to understand whether and how shifting norms were impacting HIV service uptake [1].
Research Questions or Hypotheses and Limitations (if any): Although not articulated as such, this study was guided by the general research question, How do gender norms in a South African community affect the uptake rates for HIV services? The authors also cite two main limitations: 1) the findings that emerged from this study are relevant for the South African community of interest and may not be generalizable to other jurisdictions; and 2) the purposive sample method used may also limit the generalizability of the results of the study to the community in a broader context [1].
Methodology:
Methods: The study site encompassed 31 villages of which 15 participated in the 3-year community mobilization intervention. These villages were randomly assigned to the intervention (n = 8) or a control group (n = 7). The authors implemented various strategies to improve engagement with men and women in the targeted intervention villages in an effort to identify opportunities to improve the delivery of efficacious treatments for HIV infections. A series of interviews with village residents in the intervention group and health care staff were used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention on individual gender-related attitudes about seeking health care and the effects it had on their personal relationships.
Participants: All told, the Leddy et al. study used a series of 55 interviews with 25 community members (60% of whom were HIV positive) and 30 key informants; these individuals were community mobilizers (n = 16), community action team members (n = 7), and community opinion leaders (n = 7).
Data Collection Procedures: The qualitative data for this study were collected using a series of semi-structured interviews to evaluate the effect of the intervention on gender norms, HIV testing, intimate partner violence, the disclosure of HIV status and treatment uptake rates.
Data Analysis Procedures: The transcripts of the recorded semi-structured interviews were entered into the ATLAS qualitative analysis application to generate relevant codes. Using an inductive-deductive strategy, the authors reviewed the transcripts and corresponding codes multiple times and new codes were added in an iterative fashion as they were identified. In addition, the authors also met on a regular basis during the conduct of the study to discuss newly identified themes and the full staff ultimately reached a consensus on which codes were most salient for the purposes of their analysis.
Quality of the Literature Review:
The authors clearly assumed that their audience would have a working knowledge of the importance of community mobilization efforts as well as the criticality of engaging individuals who are infected with HIV to promote their use of available health care resources because their literature review is very brief. Nevertheless, they successfully describe both the context of their study as well as its relevance for other communities that are faced with gender-related constraints to health care delivery. One surprising issue that was presented in the literature review concerned the fact that structural and institutional barriers frequently pose as much or an even greater barrier to engaging HIV-infected individuals in rural communities in sub-Saharan African nations including South Africa.
Results:
The results of the Leddy et al. study found three specific gender norms that were affected by the intervention that improved uptake rates for HIV services: 1) mens need to demonstrate toughness and avoidance of help-seeking, 2) mens expected control over women in the home, and 3) womens sole responsibility for the familys health [1]. In addition, specific themes that emerged from the research included clinic-level barriers that adversely affected the accessibility of HIV services, most especially among the male participants.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
The authors conclude that the gender-related constraints to service uptake rates for HIV treatment in the South African rural communities investigated were likely also applicable to other similarly situated community in the country as well as elsewhere in highly masculine societies. Based on their findings, the authors recommend the use of comparable community-specific interventions in the future.
Discussion:
To their credit, the Leddy et al. study was a timely investigation of a critically important issue for South Africa today. For instance, the research to date confirms that there are multiple gender-related constraints to HIV services uptake by South African people in general and those living in rural communities in particular. In addition, these constraints adversely affect the willingness of infected individuals to receive the antiretroviral therapy that is available but which is currently underused due to these gender-related issues [2]. These constraints to service uptake are perplexing to many Western observers who fail to take into account the centrality of gender norms in other societies.
Further, the authors employed a rigorous research method that was especially useful for the purposes of the study as well as the members of the targeted communities. In addition, the trustworthiness and soundness of the qualitative methods used by the authors was supported by the use of the ATLAS qualitative analysis application and the double-coding of the interview results. Finally, the studys research design was highly appropriate for the unique community settings that were involved, and the findings that emerged from the data analysis and interpretation were likely highly applicable for community health by identifying effective strategies to improve community mobilization.
Finall, HIV is certainly not a new public health threat for South Africa, and the prevalence of the disease continues to increase despite increasingly aggressive efforts by South African and international health organizations. The ongoing global Covid-19 pandemic has, of course, impeded progress in improving the delivery of health care services to treat HIV, but it makes little sense to save someones life from Covid only to have them die of another treatable disease. Therefore, studies of this nature are an important step in the right direction in identifying cost-effective ways to better engage people who are currently infected with HIV or face the threat on a daily basis.
References:
[1] Leddy AM, Gottert A, Haberland N, et al. Shifting gender norms to improve HIV service uptake: Qualitative findings from a large-scale community mobilization intervention in rural South Africa. PLoS ONE. 2021;16(12):1-17.
[2] Kalichman S, Mathews C, El-Krab R, Banas E, Kalichman M. Forgoing antiretroviral therapy to evade stigma among people living with HIV, Cape Town, South Africa. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 2021;44(5):653-661.
Get Professional Assignment Help Cheaply
Are you busy and do not have time to handle your assignment? Are you scared that your paper will not make the grade? Do you have responsibilities that may hinder you from turning in your assignment on time? Are you tired and can barely handle your assignment? Are your grades inconsistent?
Whichever your reason is, it is valid! You can get professional academic help from our service at affordable rates. We have a team of professional academic writers who can handle all your assignments.
Why Choose Our Academic Writing Service?
- Plagiarism free papers
- Timely delivery
- Any deadline
- Skilled, Experienced Native English Writers
- Subject-relevant academic writer
- Adherence to paper instructions
- Ability to tackle bulk assignments
- Reasonable prices
- 24/7 Customer Support
- Get superb grades consistently
Online Academic Help With Different Subjects
Literature
Students barely have time to read. We got you! Have your literature essay or book review written without having the hassle of reading the book. You can get your literature paper custom-written for you by our literature specialists.
Finance
Do you struggle with finance? No need to torture yourself if finance is not your cup of tea. You can order your finance paper from our academic writing service and get 100% original work from competent finance experts.
Computer science
Computer science is a tough subject. Fortunately, our computer science experts are up to the match. No need to stress and have sleepless nights. Our academic writers will tackle all your computer science assignments and deliver them on time. Let us handle all your python, java, ruby, JavaScript, php , C+ assignments!
Psychology
While psychology may be an interesting subject, you may lack sufficient time to handle your assignments. Don’t despair; by using our academic writing service, you can be assured of perfect grades. Moreover, your grades will be consistent.
Engineering
Engineering is quite a demanding subject. Students face a lot of pressure and barely have enough time to do what they love to do. Our academic writing service got you covered! Our engineering specialists follow the paper instructions and ensure timely delivery of the paper.
Nursing
In the nursing course, you may have difficulties with literature reviews, annotated bibliographies, critical essays, and other assignments. Our nursing assignment writers will offer you professional nursing paper help at low prices.
Sociology
Truth be told, sociology papers can be quite exhausting. Our academic writing service relieves you of fatigue, pressure, and stress. You can relax and have peace of mind as our academic writers handle your sociology assignment.
Business
We take pride in having some of the best business writers in the industry. Our business writers have a lot of experience in the field. They are reliable, and you can be assured of a high-grade paper. They are able to handle business papers of any subject, length, deadline, and difficulty!
Statistics
We boast of having some of the most experienced statistics experts in the industry. Our statistics experts have diverse skills, expertise, and knowledge to handle any kind of assignment. They have access to all kinds of software to get your assignment done.
Law
Writing a law essay may prove to be an insurmountable obstacle, especially when you need to know the peculiarities of the legislative framework. Take advantage of our top-notch law specialists and get superb grades and 100% satisfaction.
What discipline/subjects do you deal in?
We have highlighted some of the most popular subjects we handle above. Those are just a tip of the iceberg. We deal in all academic disciplines since our writers are as diverse. They have been drawn from across all disciplines, and orders are assigned to those writers believed to be the best in the field. In a nutshell, there is no task we cannot handle; all you need to do is place your order with us. As long as your instructions are clear, just trust we shall deliver irrespective of the discipline.
Are your writers competent enough to handle my paper?
Our essay writers are graduates with bachelor's, masters, Ph.D., and doctorate degrees in various subjects. The minimum requirement to be an essay writer with our essay writing service is to have a college degree. All our academic writers have a minimum of two years of academic writing. We have a stringent recruitment process to ensure that we get only the most competent essay writers in the industry. We also ensure that the writers are handsomely compensated for their value. The majority of our writers are native English speakers. As such, the fluency of language and grammar is impeccable.
What if I don’t like the paper?
There is a very low likelihood that you won’t like the paper.
Reasons being:
- When assigning your order, we match the paper’s discipline with the writer’s field/specialization. Since all our writers are graduates, we match the paper’s subject with the field the writer studied. For instance, if it’s a nursing paper, only a nursing graduate and writer will handle it. Furthermore, all our writers have academic writing experience and top-notch research skills.
- We have a quality assurance that reviews the paper before it gets to you. As such, we ensure that you get a paper that meets the required standard and will most definitely make the grade.
In the event that you don’t like your paper:
- The writer will revise the paper up to your pleasing. You have unlimited revisions. You simply need to highlight what specifically you don’t like about the paper, and the writer will make the amendments. The paper will be revised until you are satisfied. Revisions are free of charge
- We will have a different writer write the paper from scratch.
- Last resort, if the above does not work, we will refund your money.
Will the professor find out I didn’t write the paper myself?
Not at all. All papers are written from scratch. There is no way your tutor or instructor will realize that you did not write the paper yourself. In fact, we recommend using our assignment help services for consistent results.
What if the paper is plagiarized?
We check all papers for plagiarism before we submit them. We use powerful plagiarism checking software such as SafeAssign, LopesWrite, and Turnitin. We also upload the plagiarism report so that you can review it. We understand that plagiarism is academic suicide. We would not take the risk of submitting plagiarized work and jeopardize your academic journey. Furthermore, we do not sell or use prewritten papers, and each paper is written from scratch.
When will I get my paper?
You determine when you get the paper by setting the deadline when placing the order. All papers are delivered within the deadline. We are well aware that we operate in a time-sensitive industry. As such, we have laid out strategies to ensure that the client receives the paper on time and they never miss the deadline. We understand that papers that are submitted late have some points deducted. We do not want you to miss any points due to late submission. We work on beating deadlines by huge margins in order to ensure that you have ample time to review the paper before you submit it.
Will anyone find out that I used your services?
We have a privacy and confidentiality policy that guides our work. We NEVER share any customer information with third parties. Noone will ever know that you used our assignment help services. It’s only between you and us. We are bound by our policies to protect the customer’s identity and information. All your information, such as your names, phone number, email, order information, and so on, are protected. We have robust security systems that ensure that your data is protected. Hacking our systems is close to impossible, and it has never happened.
How our Assignment Help Service Works
1. Place an order
You fill all the paper instructions in the order form. Make sure you include all the helpful materials so that our academic writers can deliver the perfect paper. It will also help to eliminate unnecessary revisions.
2. Pay for the order
Proceed to pay for the paper so that it can be assigned to one of our expert academic writers. The paper subject is matched with the writer’s area of specialization.
3. Track the progress
You communicate with the writer and know about the progress of the paper. The client can ask the writer for drafts of the paper. The client can upload extra material and include additional instructions from the lecturer. Receive a paper.
4. Download the paper
The paper is sent to your email and uploaded to your personal account. You also get a plagiarism report attached to your paper.
PLACE THIS ORDER OR A SIMILAR ORDER WITH US TODAY AND GET A PERFECT SCORE!!!
