20 YEARS OF STRATEGIC HIV AND PUBLIC HEALTH DATA . beThe completion of the 6th South African National HIV Prevalence, Incidence and Behaviour Survey (SABSSM) report, coincides with the celebration of 30 years of democracy in South Africa; and marks 20 years of conducting nationally representative ho...usehold-based surveys by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC), its collaborators and donors. Since its inception in 2002, the SABSSM series has emerged as one of the HSRC’s leading scientific contributions to the country’s HIV and AIDS response (1), providing essential data to monitor the HIV epidemic, the impact of the HIV program in South Africa, and to inform strategies for epidemic control in the National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs (NSP), now in its fifth edition. Using scientific evidence from SABSSM and other key sources, the NSP guides the country’s response, under the leadership of the South African AIDS Council (SANAC) and the National Department of Health (NDoH), with focus on equitable access to biomedical interventions, addressing the structural and social behavioural drivers of the epidemic, and targeting populations disproportionately affected by HIV; such as, black Africans, key populations and adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) aged 15–24 years (2).
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Campbell Syst Review Vol. 18 no.1.
Despite progress in several dimensions of the global HIV response, there seems to be a significant gender and age disparity. Numerous organizations consider it a top priority to accelerate HIV prevention programming among Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) as... unequal gender norms, limited agency and voice, and reduced access to resources put them at higher HIV risk. Gender and age have also been identified as critical gaps within prevention research to ensure the development of biomedical interventions that are responsive to the biological and social needs of AGYW. Towards this, the objectives of the proposed evidence and gap map are to; identify and map existing evidence and gaps on the use of diverse Social and Behaviour Change Communication (SBCC) strategies to strengthen adoption of HIV prevention measures and participation in research among AGYW in LMICs; and, identify areas where more interventions and evidence are needed to inform the design of future SBCC strategies and programs for AGYW engagement in HIV prevention and research.
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AIDS Behav. 2022 Feb;26(2):375-384.doi: 10.1007/s10461-021-03391.
A community health worker (CHW) model can promote HIV prevention and treatment behaviors,
especially in highly mobile populations. In a fishing community in Rakai, Uganda, the Rakai
Health Sciences Program implemented a communit...y health worker HIV intervention called Health
Scouts. The situated Information, Motivation, and Behavioral Skills (sIMB) framework informed
the design and a qualitative evaluation of the intervention. We interviewed 51 intervention
clients and coded transcripts informed by sIMB framework dimensions.
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PLoS ONE 13(9): e0204088. .https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0204088.
Behaviour-change interventions have been consistently considered an essential part of comprehensive HIV, STI and unintended pregnancy prevention. In 2015, the World Health Organization reviewed and assessed existing evidence ...on brief behavioural interventions, leading to the publication of Brief sexuality-related communication: recommendations for a public health approach. This guideline recommends the use of brief behaviour intervention and communication programmes to promote sexual health and to prevent HIV, STIs, and unintended pregnancies in primary health services, particularly sexual and reproductive health services.
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Reducing the spread of HIV and improving care and treatment for people living with HIV and AIDS requires addressing social factors and behaviors that put people at risk. Social and behavior change communication (SBCC) goes beneath the surface to uncover the causes of behaviors, the social structures... that drive the epidemic and the factors that increase risk and vulnerability. FHI 360 experts are global leaders in both the response to HIV/AIDS and in the implementation of SBCC.
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