Namibian prisoners describe barriers to HIV antiretroviral therapy adherence.

Little is available in scholarly literature about how HIV-positive prisoners, especially in low-income countries, access antiretroviral therapy (ART) medication. We interviewed 18 prisoners at a large prison in Namibia to identify barriers to medication adherence. The lead nurse researcher was a long-standing clinic employee at the prison, which afforded her access to the population. We identified six significant barriers to adherence, including (1) the desire for privacy and anonymity in a setting where HIV is strongly stigmatized; (2) the lack of simple supports for adherence, such as availability of clocks; (3) insufficient access to food to support the toll on the body of ingesting taxing ART medications; (4) commodification of ART medication; (5) the brutality and despair in the prison setting, generally leading to discouragement and a lack of motivation to strive for optimum health; and (6) the lack of understanding about HIV, how it is transmitted, and how it is best managed. Because most prisoners eventually transition back to communitysettings when their sentences are served, investments in prison health represent important investments in public health.

Parents' participation in the sexuality education of their children in rural Namibia: a situational analysis.

Talking about sexuality has never been easy in most Namibians cultures and it seems that most parents feel uncomfortable and embarrassed to talk openly with their children about sexuality. They do not participate in the sexuality education of their children, because they believe they are unable to provide quality and adequate sexuality information due to their lack of knowledge about human sexuality or their perceived inability to explain what they do know. The ultimate purpose of this study was to develop, describe, implement and evaluate an educational programme to empower rural parents to participate in the sexuality education of their children. The study was designed to be qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual in nature. It was performed in three phases. Phase 1 consisted of a situational analysis to explore and describe how parents provide sexuality education. Phase 2 consisted of the development of a conceptual framework that facilitated the development of an educational programme. In phase 3 the programme was implemented and evaluated, recommendations were made and conclusions drawn. The main findings revealed two themes: factors influencing parental participation in their children's sexuality education, and the need for parental participation in their children's sexuality education. This article is part of series of three article stems from a study on the topic of sexuality education empowerment programme of rural parents in Namibia. The three articles have the following titles: one: parent's participation in sexuality education of their children: a situational analysis; two: conceptual framework developments that facilitate the development of an educational programme and three: programme implementation and evaluation. This article dealt with parent's participation in sexuality education of their children: a situational analysis.