Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study
Objective To explore the syndemic interaction between social, environmental, and structural contexts and HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa.Design Mixed qualitative methods consisting of in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) exploring the interaction between H...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2024-03-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/3/e076198.full |
| _version_ | 1797229129602433024 |
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| author | Salome Charalambous Lucy Chimoyi Pretty Ndini Matthew Oladimeji Nieser Seatlholo Kudzai Mawokomatanda Geoffrey Setswe |
| author_facet | Salome Charalambous Lucy Chimoyi Pretty Ndini Matthew Oladimeji Nieser Seatlholo Kudzai Mawokomatanda Geoffrey Setswe |
| author_sort | Salome Charalambous |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective To explore the syndemic interaction between social, environmental, and structural contexts and HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa.Design Mixed qualitative methods consisting of in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) exploring the interaction between HIV infection and the social, environmental and structural factors affecting people living in the peri-mining areas of South Africa. Themes were analysed following the syndemic theoretical framework.Setting Participants were recruited from three mining companies and locations in the peri-mining communities surrounding the mining companies in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape provinces.Participants Inclusion criteria included mineworkers, healthcare workers, female sex workers (FSWs), injection drug users (IDUs), and other community members, ≥18 years, living in the peri-mining area at the time of participation. Three FGDs were conducted (n=30): 13 men and 17 women aged 18–55 years. IDIs were conducted with 45 participants: mineworkers (n=10), healthcare workers (n=11), FSWs (n=15), truck drivers (n=4) and IDUs (n=5).Results The findings from this study indicate that a syndemic of four socio-behavioural factors is associated with HIV acquisition in peri-mining areas. These are migrancy, accessibility to alcohol and substance use, commercial and transactional sex, and uptake of HIV prevention services.Conclusions Our findings have implications for HIV prevention programmes in mining companies, which rely on male condom usage promotion. More emphasis on better education about HIV prevalence, transmission and up-to-date prevention alternatives, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis for mineworkers is recommended. Furthermore, collaboration with community-based organisations is recommended to wholly address the syndemic factors influencing HIV transmission in peri-mining communities. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T15:07:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aeadb0be9e5e4bd4affed913edf58206 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T15:07:41Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj.art-aeadb0be9e5e4bd4affed913edf582062024-04-02T12:35:08ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552024-03-0114310.1136/bmjopen-2023-076198Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative studySalome Charalambous0Lucy Chimoyi1Pretty Ndini2Matthew Oladimeji3Nieser Seatlholo4Kudzai Mawokomatanda5Geoffrey Setswe6The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaImplementation Research, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaImplementation Research, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaImplementation Research, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaImplementation Research, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaImplementation Research, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaImplementation Research, The Aurum Institute, Johannesburg, South AfricaObjective To explore the syndemic interaction between social, environmental, and structural contexts and HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa.Design Mixed qualitative methods consisting of in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs) exploring the interaction between HIV infection and the social, environmental and structural factors affecting people living in the peri-mining areas of South Africa. Themes were analysed following the syndemic theoretical framework.Setting Participants were recruited from three mining companies and locations in the peri-mining communities surrounding the mining companies in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and Northern Cape provinces.Participants Inclusion criteria included mineworkers, healthcare workers, female sex workers (FSWs), injection drug users (IDUs), and other community members, ≥18 years, living in the peri-mining area at the time of participation. Three FGDs were conducted (n=30): 13 men and 17 women aged 18–55 years. IDIs were conducted with 45 participants: mineworkers (n=10), healthcare workers (n=11), FSWs (n=15), truck drivers (n=4) and IDUs (n=5).Results The findings from this study indicate that a syndemic of four socio-behavioural factors is associated with HIV acquisition in peri-mining areas. These are migrancy, accessibility to alcohol and substance use, commercial and transactional sex, and uptake of HIV prevention services.Conclusions Our findings have implications for HIV prevention programmes in mining companies, which rely on male condom usage promotion. More emphasis on better education about HIV prevalence, transmission and up-to-date prevention alternatives, such as pre-exposure prophylaxis for mineworkers is recommended. Furthermore, collaboration with community-based organisations is recommended to wholly address the syndemic factors influencing HIV transmission in peri-mining communities.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/3/e076198.full |
| spellingShingle | Salome Charalambous Lucy Chimoyi Pretty Ndini Matthew Oladimeji Nieser Seatlholo Kudzai Mawokomatanda Geoffrey Setswe Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study BMJ Open |
| title | Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Exploring the syndemic interaction between social, environmental and structural contexts of HIV infection in peri-mining areas in South Africa: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | exploring the syndemic interaction between social environmental and structural contexts of hiv infection in peri mining areas in south africa a qualitative study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/14/3/e076198.full |
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