Publications
This section aims to provide a comprehensive review of research related to the UK African HIV epidemic, published in the last quarter. This issue covers publications between April and July 2004.
Stopping stigma with Awaredressers: perceptions on Terrence Higgins Trust’s HIV prejudice and discrimination poster campaign
Two new reports to emerge from Terrence Higgins Trust provide feedback on a collaboration between Terrence Higgins Trust and the Barnet based-Awaredressers network to tackle HIV related stigma and discrimination.
Terrence Higgins Trust devised a poster campaign to challenge HIV discrimination in the African community.
The posters invited comparisons between racism and HIV discrimination to encourage people to acknowledge and question their prejudices towards people living with HIV. As part of the Campaign, Awaredressers volunteers were invited to display the posters in their shops, beauty salons, barbers, restaurants and phone centres across the London borough of Barnet.
Awaredressers is a community-based project supported by Barnet Primary Care Trust’s Health Development and Regeneration Team, comprising local African businesses working with an outreach team to raise awareness of HIV and distribute condoms to the African community. Barnet PCT joined forces with Terrence Higgins Trust to commission a qualitative research study to investigate reactions to the campaign posters.
These two study reports provide insight into a successful community-based HIV prevention initiative, understanding of community attitudes towards people living with HIV and beliefs about HIV and reveal important lessons for future interventions among the UK African population.
Download the reports at the AHRF website: www.ahrf.org.uk/articles
UNAIDS. 2004 report on the global HIV/AIDS epidemic :4th global report. UNAIDS, Geneva, 2004. ISBN 9291733555
This Global Report sets out current knowledge on the state of the epidemic based on the experiences of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), which comprises nine United Nations system agencies.
http://www.unaids.org/bangkok2004/report.html
Keogh, P. Henderson, L. Dodds, C. Ethnic Minority Gay men: Redefining Community Restoring Identity. Sigma Research, London, 2004. ISBN 1872956742
This report presents the results of one of three studies investigating how social and cultural factors shape gay male identity and influence gay male social life in London today. These studies aim to problematise monolithic and unhelpful concepts such as ‘gay community’ or ‘gay scene’ and show how the population of gay men in London is driven with cultural, political and social differences.
Encyclopedia of Women’s Health
Edited by Sana Loue
Publishers Blurb: The Encyclopedia of Women’s Health covers a broad spectrum of women’s health issues, ranging from the clinical to spiritual, from legal and historical, to emotional and psychological. It will serve as a valuable resource for physicians, nurses, case managers, and teachers, as well as those working at departments of public health, academic libraries, women’s organizations and programs in women’s studies and government agencies.
Kluwer Academic
May 2004
725 pages
ISBN 0306480735
Evaluating Health Promotion
Second Edition
Edited by Margaret Thorogood and Yolande Coombes
Publishers Blurb: The authors of this book highlight key issues in the evaluation of health promotion interventions. Both qualitative and quantitative methods that are commonly used are described and the problems and benefits that arise with their use are explained. Practitioners of health promotion will find this book provides a clear practical guide to common methods of evaluation and will help them design and implement appropriate and informative evaluations which help to strengthen the health promotion evidence base. Programme Managers responsible for the implementation of health promotion interventions will find clear examples and guidance to help them evaluate activities.
Oxford University Press
August 2004
250 pages
ISBN 0198528809
Strategic Communication in the HIV/AIDS Epidemic
Neill McKee, Jane Bertrand, Antje Becker-Benton
Publishers Blurb: This book promotes the use of strategic communication to fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Focusing on strategic communication for positive and measurable behaviour change, the authors elaborate on a wide range of issues including: the importance of advocacy and community mobilization; comprehensive approaches to prevention and the use of communication in reducing stigma.
Sage Publications Ltd. June 2004
346 pages
ISBN 0761932089
Methods for Testing and Evaluating Survey Questionnaires
Stanley Presser et al.
Publishers Blurb: The book covers cognitive interviewing, interaction analysis, response latency, respondent debriefings, vignette analysis, split-sample comparisons, statistical modelling, mode of administration, and special populations. It also considers these topics in light of emerging techniques and technologies. The book’s authors include more than two-dozen eminent professionals in a variety of fields related to survey methodology and questionnaire development. Copious tables, figures, and references, as well as an extensive glossary, supplement the high quality discussion throughout the text.
Wiley Canada
July 2004
606 pages
ISBN 0471458414
The following papers were published in peer-reviewed journals between 1st April 2004 and 31st July 2004.
Rowe RE, et al. Social and ethnic inequalities in the offer and uptake of prenatal screening and diagnosis in the UK: a systematic review. Public Health 2004;118:177-89.
The authors undertook a systematic review of studies assessing the offer or uptake of prenatal screening or diagnosis according to social class or ethnic origin. From over 600 identified papers, 41 were potentially relevant. The studies included covered screening and/or diagnosis for Down’s syndrome, neural tube defects, haemoglobin disorders and HIV. This review provides some evidence of ethnic inequalities in access to prenatal testing. Further research is required to improve our understanding of why testing may not be offered, the reasons for failure to take up testing when offered, and to identify whether there are other social inequalities in access to prenatal testing
Rice BD, et al. Prevalent diagnosed HIV in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: adjusted totals 1996 to 2001 and extrapolations to 2004. AIDS 2004;18:927-32.
The study aimed to predict trends in diagnosed HIV prevalence by extrapolation to 2004 using data from the annual surveys of individuals receiving HIV-related care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland from 1996 to 2001. Data from the annual surveys of prevalent HIV infections diagnosed (SOPHID) were extrapolated using negative binomial and linear regression models based on the 1996 to 2001 annual surveys. The negative binomial model predicted an increase of 56% in diagnosed HIV prevalence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland between 2001 and 2004. The linear model predicted an increase of 25% for the same time period. The predicted increases are mostly driven by the large rise in the number of new diagnoses, in particular in individuals infected heterosexually.
Thorne C,.Newell ML. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV infection. Curr.Opin.Infect.Dis. 2004;17:247-52.
This review addresses recent advances in the `understanding of mother-to-child transmission risk factors, including maternal viral load (in plasma, genital tract and breast milk) and gender, and determinants and rates of postnatal transmission.
Brown AE, et al. Recent trends in HIV and other STIs in the United Kingdom: data to the end of 2002. Sex Transm.Infect. 2004;80:159-66.
This paper describes results from the available surveillance data in the United Kingdom from the Health Protection Agency and its national collaborators. In 2002, an estimated 49500 adults aged over 15 years were living with HIV in the United Kingdom, of whom 31% were unaware of their infection. Diagnoses of new HIV infections have doubled from 1997 to 2002, mainly driven by heterosexuals who acquired their infection abroad
Mitchell HS,.Stephens E. Contraception choice for HIV positive women. Sex Transm.Infect. 2004;80:167-73.
Women with HIV infection, like other women, may wish to plan pregnancy, limit their family, or avoid pregnancy. Health professionals should enable these reproductive choices by counselling and appropriate contraception provision at the time of HIV diagnosis and during follow up. The aim of this article is to present a global overview of contraception choice for women living with HIV infection including effects on sexual transmission risk
Fiore S, et al. Higher rates of post-partum complications in HIV-infected than in uninfected women irrespective of mode of delivery. AIDS 2004;18:933-8.
The objective of this study was to inform the debate on the use of elective Caesarean section (CS) delivery in HIV-infected women; it investigated the occurrence of clinical events in the immediate post-partum period in women delivering in 13 European centres. Two separate matched case-control studies (vaginal and elective CS deliveries) among infected women (cases) and uninfected controls delivering between 1992 and 2002. The prevalence of minor and major post-partum complications was assessed overall for infected and uninfected women; within mode of delivery group (vaginal/CS) the complication rates of infected cases were compared with uninfected controls in a matched analysis. HIV-infected pregnant women are at increased risk of post-partum complications regardless of mode of delivery, but modification of clinical practice, particularly use of prophylactic antibiotics, would reduce this risk.
Dunkle KL, et al. Gender-based violence, relationship power, and risk of HIV infection in women attending antenatal clinics in South Africa. Lancet 2004;363:1415-21.
Gender-based violence and gender inequality are increasingly cited as important determinants of women’s HIV risk. This cross-sectional study of 1366 women presenting for antenatal care at four health centres in Soweto, South Africa, postulates that abusive men are more likely to have HIV and impose risky sexual practices on partners.
Gregson S, et al. Community group participation: can it help young women to avoid HIV? An exploratory study of social capital and school education in rural Zimbabwe. Soc.Sci.Med. 2004;58:2119-32.
The authors use cross-sectional data from a large-scale, population-based survey in rural eastern Zimbabwe to describe the relationships between membership of different forms of community group and young women’s chances of avoiding HIV. The results show that participation in local community groups is often positively associated with successful avoidance of HIV, which, in turn, is positively associated with psychosocial determinants of safer behaviour. However, whether or not these relationships hold depends on a range of factors that include how well the group functions, the purpose of the group, and the education level of the individual participant. The findings suggest that promotion of and organisational development and training among community groups could well be an effective HIV control strategy.