Establishing effective family and community level communication as a social vaccine to HIV/AIDS prevention in Hammarsdale, Kwasulu-Natal

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study investigates the level of communication at family and community level and the possible hindrances thereof at Hammarsdale in Kwazulu-Natal Province. Effective communication is considered necessary as one of the effective preventive strategies in the fight against the current HIV/AIDS epidemic witnessed today in South Africa. This area of study was considered vital in the absence of an effective vaccine and definitive treatment against the virus.The study utilized qualitative methods using structured interviews to gain an in-depth knowledge about the level of communication on sexual communication, condom utilization and HIV/AIDS prevention within the social and cultural context of the interviewed community.The study concludes that the level of communication at both family and community level is suboptimal. The lowest communication level was found between parents and their children and vice versa. The study shows that three major factors were responsible for this communication poverty and silence, possibly fuelling the current epidemic. These are 'fear', 'stigma' and 'culture'. The study also revealed that so far, schools and healthcare facilities serve as the most common source of information and knowledge about condom use, safer sexual practices and HIV/AIDS related information.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University