Social support and health behaviour in women living with HIV in KwaZulu-Natal

Abstract

The article explores the relationship between social support and health behaviour of rural and urban women who are living with HIV in South Africa. Our study was a descriptive survey of a group of pregnant and non-pregnant women living with HIV. The sample size was 262 women, 165 from urban area and 97 from rural area. Data were collected using 3 instruments, namely a demographic questionnaire, the health behaviour schedule and the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) Social Support Survey. Significant findings indicate that in the urban area 71% of women had disclosed their HIV status to someone, while in the rural area 49% had done so. A total of 77% of the women indicated that they were sexually active--21% had 2 partners and 20% indicated that they had at least one episode of a sexually transmitted disease since finding out their HIV status. A total of 16% said that they currently received counselling, which was significantly more frequent in the rural sample (27%) than the urban (11%). The membership of support groups is at 12% among the participating women, and social support as well as membership of a support group was higher in the rural group than the urban group. Good social support showed an association with condom use, support group attendance and taking vitamins. However, receiving counselling as well as membership of a support group showed stronger association with positive health behaviour than social support on its own. The higher social support was not associated with increased disclosure.

Stigma kills! The psychological effects of emotional abuse and discrimination towards a patient with HIV in Uganda

“…The WHO has promoted peer support groups for those suffering from HIV to reduce stigma and discrimination and to encourage disclosure and help patients adhere to treatment and remain in care 38–40. Attending support groups has even been correlated positively with an increase in condom use and reduced HIV transmission rate 41. A study conducted in Mozambique found a significant increase in the proportion of patients who continued to actively remain in medical care receiving ART 42.…”

Barriers to Recommended Gynecologic Care in an Urban United States HIV Clinic

“…Based on previous studies using the MOS Social Support Survey, including a published study of HIV-positive women, the total score of the MOS Social Support Survey was converted to a 0-100 scale, with very low support defined as a score of 25%, low as 26%-50%, medium as 51%-75%, and high as >76% on the overall functional support index. [17][18][19] Depressive symptoms. The CES-D 10 is a 10-item survey that asks how often respondents have felt a certain way during the past year, with responses on a scale from All of the time to Not at all, for example: I felt depressed.…”

“…We used several existent instruments with established reliability and validity: the MOS Social Support Survey, [17][18][19] the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10), 20 and an expanded version of a previously validated partner violence scale, 21 which also queried emotional abuse.…”

Social capital and the decline in HIV transmission – A case study in three villages in the Kagera region of Tanzania

“…Such networks may also provide avenues for exchange of information, which may help in shaping community norms and become role models for healthy behaviour. A study by Gaede, Majeke, Modeste, Naidoo, Titus and Uys (2006) found an association between good social support, increased use of condoms and vitamin intake.…”