Who is telling whose story? The effectiveness of peer-to-peer approaches as inclusive participatory interventions towards sustainability

Thetha Nami : Participatory development of a peer-navigator intervention to deliver biosocial HIV prevention for adolescents and youth in rural South Africa

“…Whilst the Thetha Nami components are similar to combination prevention interventions such as DREAMS [7] the emphasis on youth leadership and bonding, bridging and linking social capital as key ingredients to intervention development and delivery places Thetha Nami closer to the combination interventions that emerged from sex worker mobilization and collectivization and the 'push from below' embodied in the Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa [17,22,24,32,36,59,62] In this area of high youth unemployment, the peer-navigator intervention was seen as bene cial not only to the community but also the peer navigators themselves by providing training, work and income. The bene ts of participating in peer mentorship programmes on the peers themselves has been described in other programmes [12,13,19,21,25,58]. Thetha Nami like some other programmes, if integrated with the wider health and social care system, can be a vehicle to accelerate some of the sustainable development goals amongst adolescents [11].…”

“…Peer-to-peer approaches are advocated as sustainable ways to harness social learning and adapt it to the social context [21]. This approach is particularly powerful when it evolves into collective action that drives social movement for change [21][22][23][24][25], or, engages with pedagogical theories to support socially embedded co-production of knowledge [26].…”

“…Peer-to-peer approaches are advocated as sustainable ways to harness social learning and adapt it to the social context [21]. This approach is particularly powerful when it evolves into collective action that drives social movement for change [21][22][23][24][25], or, engages with pedagogical theories to support socially embedded co-production of knowledge [26]. A systematic review identi ed 12 studies that examined peer-based interventions with young people and found improvements in knowledge, sexual behaviour, and condom use [27] and evidence for peer-led interventions to support HIV prevention is emerging [18,[28][29][30].…”

Thetha Nami: participatory development of a peer-navigator intervention to deliver biosocial HIV prevention for adolescents and youth in rural South Africa

“…Peer-to-peer approaches are advocated as sustainable ways to harness social learning and adapt it to the social context [21]. This approach is particularly powerful when it evolves into collective action that drives social movement for change [21][22][23][24][25], or engages with pedagogical theories to support socially embedded coproduction of knowledge [26].…”

“…Peer-to-peer approaches are advocated as sustainable ways to harness social learning and adapt it to the social context [21]. This approach is particularly powerful when it evolves into collective action that drives social movement for change [21][22][23][24][25], or engages with pedagogical theories to support socially embedded coproduction of knowledge [26]. A systematic review identified 12 studies that examined peer-based interventions with young people and found improvements in knowledge, sexual behaviour, and condom use [27] and evidence for peer-led interventions to support HIV prevention is emerging [18,[28][29][30].…”