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Health and social support services to HIV/AIDS infected individuals in Tanzania: employees and employers perceptions.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: HIV is a major public health problem in the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. It often leads to loss of productive labour and disruption of existing social support system which results in deterioration of population health. This poses a great challenge to infected people in meeting their essential goods and services. This paper examines health and social support services provided by employers to HIV/AIDS infected employees in Tanzania. METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study, which employed qualitative and quantitative methods in data collection and analysis. Structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews were used to assess the health and social support services provision at employers and employees perspectives. The study participants were employees and employers from public and private organizations. RESULTS: A total of 181 employees and 23 employers from 23 workplaces aged between 18-68 years were involved. The results show that 23.8% (i.e., 20.4% males and 27.3% females) of the employees had at least one member of the family or close relatives living with HIV at the time of the study. Fifty six percent of the infected employees reported to have been receiving health or social support from their employers. Employees' responses were consistent with those reported by their employers. A total of 12(52.2%) and 11(47.8%) employers reported to have been providing health and social supports respectively. Female employees (58.3%) from the private sector (60.0%) were more likely to receive supports than male employees (52.6%) and than those from the public sector (46.2%). The most common health and social support received by the employees were treatment, and nutritional support and reduction of workload, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HIV/AIDS infected employees named treatment and nutritional support, and soft loans and reduced workload respectively, as the most important health and social supports they needed from their employers. This study provides baseline information for further studies on provision of health and social support services by employers to HIV/AIDS infected employees in the context of a developing economy like Tanzania.

SUBMITTER: Kassile T

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4074831 | biostudies-other | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-other

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Health and social support services to HIV/AIDS infected individuals in Tanzania: employees and employers perceptions.

Kassile Telemu T Anicetus Honest H Kukula Raphael R Mmbando Bruno P BP

BMC public health 20140620

<h4>Background</h4>HIV is a major public health problem in the world, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. It often leads to loss of productive labour and disruption of existing social support system which results in deterioration of population health. This poses a great challenge to infected people in meeting their essential goods and services. This paper examines health and social support services provided by employers to HIV/AIDS infected employees in Tanzania.<h4>Methods</h4>This was a cross-se ...[more]

PMID: 24950701

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Project description:ObjectivesAbnormal hearing tests have been noted in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients in several studies, but the nature of the hearing deficit has not been clearly defined. The authors performed a cross-sectional study of both HIV+ and HIV- individuals in Tanzania by using an audiological test battery. The authors hypothesized that HIV+ adults would have a higher prevalence of abnormal central and peripheral hearing test results compared with HIV- controls. In addition, they anticipated that the prevalence of abnormal hearing assessments would increase with antiretroviral therapy (ART) use and treatment for tuberculosis (TB).DesignPure-tone thresholds, distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs), tympanometry, and a gap-detection test were performed using a laptop-based hearing testing system on 751 subjects (100 HIV- in the United States, plus 651 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, including 449 HIV+ [130 ART- and 319 ART+], and 202 HIV-, subjects. No U.S. subjects had a history of TB treatment. In Tanzania, 204 of the HIV+ and 23 of the HIV- subjects had a history of TB treatment. Subjects completed a video and audio questionnaire about their hearing, as well as a health history questionnaire.ResultsHIV+ subjects had reduced DPOAE levels compared with HIV- subjects, but their hearing thresholds, tympanometry results, and gap-detection thresholds were similar. Within the HIV+ group, those on ART reported significantly greater difficulties understanding speech in noise, and were significantly more likely to report that they had difficulty understanding speech than the ART- group. The ART+ group had a significantly higher mean gap-detection threshold compared with the ART- group. No effects of TB treatment were seen.ConclusionsThe fact that the ART+/ART- groups did not differ in measures of peripheral hearing ability (DPOAEs, thresholds), or middle ear measures (tympanometry), but that the ART+ group had significantly more trouble understanding speech and had higher gap-detection thresholds indicates a central processing deficit. These data suggest that: (1) hearing deficits in HIV+ individuals could be a CNS side effect of HIV infection, (2) certain ART regimens might produce CNS side effects that manifest themselves as hearing difficulties, and/or (3) some ART regimens may treat CNS HIV inadequately, perhaps due to insufficient CNS drug levels, which is reflected as a central hearing deficit. Monitoring of central hearing parameters could be used to track central effects of either HIV or ART.

Project description:BACKGROUND:New HIV infections in Tanzania have been decreasing, however some populations remain at higher risk. Despite of that, evidence on the magnitude of HIV infection and the associated factors and HIV/AIDS services uptake among fisherfolk in Tanzania are inadequately explored. This study therefore aimed at determining prevalence of HIV infection and utilization of HIV/AIDS services among fishfolk in selected Islands of Lake Victoria for evidence-based interventions. METHODS:Cross-sectional study determining status of HIV infection among fisherfolk (n?=?456) and retrospective review of voluntary counselling and testing (VCT) registry (n?=?1744) were done in Buchosa and Muleba districts. Structured questionnaire and HIV rapid test kits with the standard testing protocol were used as research tools. RESULTS:A total of 269 (58.9%) male and 187 (41.1%) female fisherfolk were recruited during the community survey. Prevalence of HIV infection was 14% in all surveyed landing sites with a site variation from as low as 7.2% to as high as 23.8%. Participants employed in fishing related employment had higher odds of being HIV infected (5.4 times) than those who practiced fishing and partly farming [OR?=?5.40; 95%CI 1.88-15.61; p?<?0.001]. Participants employed in fishing related employment had higher odds of being HIV infected (5.4 times) than those practiced fishing and farming [OR?=?5.40; 95%CI 1.88-15.61; P?<?0.001]. Lack of formal education [aOR?=?3.37; 95%CI 1.64-6.92; p?<?0.001], being older [aOR?=?1.06; 95%CI 1.03-1.09] and using alcohol [aOR?=?2.26; 95%CI 1.23-4.15] predicted the likelihood of contracting HIV infection. Approximately three quarters (76%) of respondents had ever tested for HIV infection within past 1 year. Moreover, about half of the study participants had used condom inconsistently and 5 out of 14 (37.5%) of participants who knew their status had never started treatment. Despite the low uptake of most HIV preventive services, majority (88%) of male fisherfolk were circumcised. CONCLUSION:The magnitude of HIV infection among fisherfolk was up to 3 times higher than that of the general populations in Muleba and Buchosa districts. Higher age, using alcohol and lack of formal education predicted increased likelihood of HIV infection. The uptake of key HIV/AIDS curative and preventive services was generally low.

Project description:BackgroundWhether vexing clinical decision-making dilemmas can be partly addressed by recent advances in genomics is unclear. For example, when to initiate highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) during HIV-1 infection remains a clinical dilemma. This decision relies heavily on assessing AIDS risk based on the CD4+ T cell count and plasma viral load. However, the trajectories of these two laboratory markers are influenced, in part, by polymorphisms in CCR5, the major HIV coreceptor, and the gene copy number of CCL3L1, a potent CCR5 ligand and HIV-suppressive chemokine. Therefore, we determined whether accounting for both genetic and laboratory markers provided an improved means of assessing AIDS risk.Methods and findingsIn a prospective, single-site, ethnically-mixed cohort of 1,132 HIV-positive subjects, we determined the AIDS risk conveyed by the laboratory and genetic markers separately and in combination. Subjects were assigned to a low, moderate or high genetic risk group (GRG) based on variations in CCL3L1 and CCR5. The predictive value of the CCL3L1-CCR5 GRGs, as estimated by likelihood ratios, was equivalent to that of the laboratory markers. GRG status also predicted AIDS development when the laboratory markers conveyed a contrary risk. Additionally, in two separate and large groups of HIV+ subjects from a natural history cohort, the results from additive risk-scoring systems and classification and regression tree (CART) analysis revealed that the laboratory and CCL3L1-CCR5 genetic markers together provided more prognostic information than either marker alone. Furthermore, GRGs independently predicted the time interval from seroconversion to CD4+ cell count thresholds used to guide HAART initiation.ConclusionsThe combination of the laboratory and genetic markers captures a broader spectrum of AIDS risk than either marker alone. By tracking a unique aspect of AIDS risk distinct from that captured by the laboratory parameters, CCL3L1-CCR5 genotypes may have utility in HIV clinical management. These findings illustrate how genomic information might be applied to achieve practical benefits of personalized medicine.

Project description:IntroductionThe use of peer support programmes to help workers experiencing potentially traumatic events (PTE) has increased in high-risk organisations in the last decades. However, the scientific evidence of its effectiveness is still very limited. This paper aims to describe the protocol of a prospective cohort study that assesses the efficacy of a peer support programme among youth social services employees exposed to a PTE at work on psychological well-being, work functioning and needs of support.Methods and analysisThis is a mixed-methods prospective study that will examine workers' evolution four times over a 12-month period in Canada. This study involves: (1) quantitative data obtained through self-administrated questionnaires among 222 workers, and (2) qualitative in-depth interviews with a subsample of 45 workers. This study will compare findings from a cohort who received the support of a peer following a PTE (peer support-experimental protocol) as part of the experimental protocol of the Montreal Youth Social Services-University Institute (MYSS-UI), the second group of workers did not ask for the peer support (no peer support-experimental protocol) but was part of MYSS-UI, and the third group received standard organisational support from the Monteregie Youth Social Services (MYSS) (standard organisational protocol).Ethics and disseminationThe protocol and informed consent form complied with the ethics guidelines of the MYSS-UI. The Research Ethics Board of MYSS-UI and MYSS reviewed and accepted the protocol as required. The results of the study will be published in peer-reviewed journals, presented at research and general public conferences, disseminated via a public report for the institute that funded the project and for all workers. Results of this study will influence decision making regarding intervention policies following PTE and peer support interventions may be expanded throughout the youth social services in Canada and worldwide.

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Health and social support services to HIV/AIDS infected individuals in Tanzania: employees and employers perceptions.

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Health and social support services to HIV/AIDS infected individuals in Tanzania: employees and employers perceptions.

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