Document Detail


When promoting pills is easier than pushing the ABC: a case study from Kavango, Namibia.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20680858     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
One of the challenges faced by AIDS service organisations seeking to engage with traditional leaders and community elders in Kavango, north-east Namibia, has been the popular view that the messages of the fight against HIV/AIDS contradict local cultural values. However, there are indications that this has been changing. Staff and volunteers working with AIDS service organisations reported that growing numbers of traditional leaders were becoming involved in HIV/AIDS programmes, in particular supporting efforts to promote HIV testing and encourage more people to take up antiretroviral therapy (ART), which has been available in state hospitals in the region since 2005. This paper explores one of the factors that appear to be facilitating this broadening of participation in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The case is made that increasing familiarity with and confidence in ART has contributed to the emergence of an alternative set of signs around HIV/AIDS that is more culturally permissive and is not so conducive to social representations of a moral disjuncture between HIV/AIDS programmes and Kavango culture. This has created opportunities for traditional leaders and elders to more easily resolve the tensions between the recognised need to respond to "this disease of today", and whilst still performing their role as guardians of local culture. This paper is based on ethnographic research conducted in Kavango over a period of 18 months during 2007-2008.
Authors:
Joel Busher
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  AIDS care     Volume:  22 Suppl 1     ISSN:  1360-0451     ISO Abbreviation:  AIDS Care     Publication Date:  2010  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-08-03     Completed Date:  2010-12-28     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8915313     Medline TA:  AIDS Care     Country:  England    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  29-34     Citation Subset:  IM; X    
Affiliation:
School of International Development, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. j.busher@uea.ac.uk
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Anti-Retroviral Agents / therapeutic use*
Consumer Participation / psychology*
Cultural Characteristics
Data Collection
Developing Countries
Female
HIV Infections* / diagnosis,  drug therapy,  psychology
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health Plan Implementation
Humans
Leadership
Male
Namibia
Patient Compliance / psychology*
Socioeconomic Factors
Chemical
Reg. No./Substance:
0/Anti-Retroviral Agents

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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