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This paper builds upon the theoretical framework advanced by the growing literature on vulnerability. The paper explores how vulnerability to HIV/AIDS applies to young women living in the slum areas of New Delhi and Hyderabad. This circumscription of scope is based on a study on AIDS awareness levels in these two Indian cities conducted during summer of 2006. Using a qualitative approach, the paper offers insightful narratives from a sample of 26 women about their cultural and socio-economic circumstances with reference to HIV/AIDS. The excerpts from these women give a poignant view of their precarious circumstances with reference to lack of female autonomy, economic vulnerability, low AIDS awareness, and lack of access to pertinent information about HIV. The female youth were highly susceptible to the double bind of age and gender based hierarchies present in the patriarchal Indian social system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This paper describes the experiences and concerns of women participating in a short-term AZT intervention feasibility study to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission at three sites in India. The study used qualitative methods to examine the experiences of 31 women during late pregnancy, delivery and at post-natal visits. It also elicited the perspectives of 19 healthcare providers. Frequent visits required during late-pregnancy and the post-natal period presented concerns for the women in the study. Women's understanding of the long-term implications of participating in the intervention study was poor, and living with uncertainty about the HIV status of the newborn was a major concern. The provision of psychosocial support is essential in future intervention studies and should be incorporated on an ongoing basis. Networking with women-centred support groups may be helpful in enabling women to gain the long-term benefits of this type of intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In 2003, India had over 5.1 million infected individuals living with HIV/AIDS. The percentage of all HW cases attributed to perinatal transmission has been increasing steadily from 0.33% of total cases in 1999 to 2.80% in 2004. Recent statistics indicate that over 180,000 infants have been infected through this route, Despite recent advances in reducing in utero and interbartum transmission with the use of antiretrovirals, there is a critical need to make infant feeding safer. Current UNAIDS/WHO/UNICEF recommendations stress avoidance of all breastfeeding if replacement feeding fulfills the key requirements of being affordable, feasible, acceptable, sustainable, and safe, In this paper, we examine how the UNAIDS/WHO/UNICEF recommendations have been actualized within the context of an urban government hospital in India. The documented patterns of infant feeding by HIV-positive mothers in Pune, India, from 2000 to 2004, highlight the complexities of making an informed and healthy choice under suboptimal conditions. The data indicate that interpersonal variations in the key requirements greatly influence the optimal practice to minimize mortality risks. Moreover, local information on health outcomes is crucial to tailoring policy recommendations to save lives. We propose the development of a decision-making algorithm that includes factors affecting mother-to-infant transmission, including site-specific data on health risks to the mother and the child. Such an algorithm would allow identification of the healthiest feeding choice and would minimize the pitfalls of promoting homogeneous practices lacking site-specific evidence-based evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study compares knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS between 645 urban and 499 rural women aged between 20-45 years belonging to Rajbanshi ethnic population of North Bengal, India using multi-stage random sampling method. Data related to knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS was recorded using a pre-structured questionnaire and open-ended interviews. Data were statistically analysed using chi-square analysis, regression analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (version 16.0) and R (version 4.0.0). Results of PCA analysis showed that significant differences existed in the knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS between the rural and urban women (p<0.05). Comprehensive knowledge, awareness and attitudes related to HIV/AIDS were significantly higher among urban women, as compared to rural. Efforts are required by the local bodies, non-governmental agencies and the government to create awareness towards HIV/AIDS, especially among the rural population. The comprehensive knowledge gap and misconception must be eradicated in order to reduce the relative risks of disease transmission in community or population level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Ensuring the quality and effectiveness of counselling is imperative for enabling people living with HIV to cope with treatment adherence. Countrywide assessment of antiretroviral therapy (ART) centres was undertaken to assess the quality and effectiveness of counselling. The insights gained from the assessment are expected to build an improved understanding of the counselling aspect and contribute to informing decisions strengthening the counselling provided at ART centres. Methods Assessment of counselling at 357 ART centres entailed interviews with counsellors and beneficiaries using a structured questionnaire administered by trained technical experts. Two counsellors and five beneficiaries at each ART centre were interviewed to assess both the quality and effectiveness of counselling. Beneficiaries were selected from different risk groups to understand their varied concerns and experiences. Results During the assessment, 618 counsellors were interviewed (45% women); also, 1785 beneficiaries were interviewed, consisting of 892 (49.9%) men, 857 (48.1%) women and 36 (2.0%) transgender. Counsellors were found to be relatively well informed on topics pertaining to pre-ART, ART preparedness and positive healthy living, and the psychosocial support extended to patients. Counsellors surveyed were not aware of critical areas such as counselling of pregnant women (44.5%) , drug adherence (44.8%) and the use of information, education and communication material during counselling, and pill count. The majority of beneficiaries reported being informed on issues pertaining to retention; however, 30–40% of beneficiaries were not informed regarding the critical elements of adherence such as counselling on ART side effects (68.5%), pill count (62.8%) and information on access to social benefit schemes (25.7%). Factors such as client volume, the training of the counsellors and adequate space for counselling affected the quality of counselling. Conclusion With concerted efforts in bridging the gaps in knowledge, infrastructure and information needs, India's national AIDS control programme (NACP) can enhance the counselling services at ART centres and improve the quality of services for patient retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo explore associations between household food security and home gardening, use of soya and pressure cooker ownership in low-income households affected by HIV/AIDS in Aurangabad, India.DesignCross-sectional pilot study which assessed household food security using the validated US Department of Agriculture's food security core-module questionnaire. Questions were added to explore household environment, education, occupation, home gardening, use of soya and pressure cooker ownership. Households with very low v. low food security were compared using logistic regression analysis, controlling for confounding by socio-economic status.SettingAurangabad is an urban setting situated in a primarily agricultural dependent area. The study was carried out in 2008, at the peak of the global food crisis.SubjectsAdult caregivers of children affiliated with the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Aurangabad.ResultsAll except for one of 133 households were identified as food insecure (99·2 %). Of these households, 35·6 % had to cut size or skip a meal in the past 30 d. Households that cut meal size due to cooking fuel shortages were more likely to have very low food security (OR = 4·67; 95 % CI 1·62, 13·44) compared with households having no cooking fuel shortages. Owning a pressure cooker was shown to be protective against very low food security after controlling for confounding by socio-economic status (OR = 0·27; 95 % CI 0·11, 0·64).ConclusionsOnly pressure cooker ownership showed a protective association with low household food security. Pressure cookers save household fuel costs. Therefore, future interventions should explore pressure cookers as a sustainable means of improving household food security. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Culture, Health & Sexuality is the property of Routledge and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)