Exploring the relationship between HIV and alcohol use in a remote Namibian mining community
| dc.contributor.author | Lightfoot, Elizabeth | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-02-24T07:42:07Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-02-24T07:42:07Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2009 | |
| dc.description.abstract | In southern Africa, the use of alcohol is increasingly seen as creating a context of risk for HIV transmission. This qualitative study investigates the links between alcohol use and higher-risk sexual behaviours in a remote southern Namibian mining-town community. Using data from six focus groups and 16 in-depth interviews conducted in 2008, the researchers investigated knowledge of the link between alcohol consumption and HIV risk, focusing on the specific mechanisms related to drinking and higher-risk sexual behaviours. Although know!edga regarding HIV and alcohol was high among the mineworkers and other community members, the social structure of a remote mining town appears to lead to high levels of alcohol use and higher-risk sexual behaviours. The heavy use of alcohol acts as an accelerant to these behaviours, including as a source of fortitude for those with an intention to engage in casual sexual partnerships or multiple concurrent partnerships, and as a cause for those behaviours for people who may otherwise intend to avoid them. The findings suggest a need for HIV-prevention programmes that focus more holistically on HIV and AIDS and alcohol use, as well as the need for structural changes to mining-town communities in order to reduce the likelihood of both heavy alcohol use as well as a high prevalence of higher-risk sexual behaviours. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.citation | Lightfoot, E. and others. 2009. Exploring the relationship between HIV and alcohol use in a remote Namibian mining community. African Journal of AlDS Research 8(3):321-327. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.issn | 1727-9445 | |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11070/670 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | en_US |
| dc.publisher | AJAR | en_US |
| dc.relation.ispartofseries | African Journal of AlDS Research;3 | |
| dc.subject | Community profiles | en_US |
| dc.subject | HIV/AIDS | en_US |
| dc.subject | Mineworkers | en_US |
| dc.subject | Prevention | en_US |
| dc.subject | Risk behaviour | en_US |
| dc.subject | Sexual behaviour | en_US |
| dc.title | Exploring the relationship between HIV and alcohol use in a remote Namibian mining community | en_US |
| dc.type | Article | en_US |