Perceptions of undergraduate students not participating in HIV/AIDS prevention activities in Botswana.

BACKGROUND: Botswana is one of the countries hardest hit by HIV/AIDS. Prevalence rates of 22.8% and 38.6% have been reported for age groups 15-19 and 20-24 years respectively. The government has solicited a concerted effort of all individuals and agencies in both the public and private sector in the fight against HIV/AIDS. PURPOSE: This report is part of the findings of a study conducted at a university to evaluate students' perceptions of the effectiveness of two HIV/AIDS initiatives put in place and aimed at changing the students' knowledge, attitudes and behaviour. METHODS: The study utilized the Rapid Assessment Process (RAP). Four teams interviewed: students who had taken the course; students who had used the centre; students who had taken the course and used the centre; and students who have neither taken the course nor used the centre. Initial steps in data analysis involved coding and theme derivation. Findings reported here were from participants who neither participated in the course nor used the centre. FINDINGS: Participants reported the following problems, which were hindering the success of the programmes: problems in the ABC message; permissive campus environment; lack of entertainment; and students' perceptions about HIV/AIDS and their own vulnerability. Participants came up with suggestions for improving the initiatives. The authors discuss implications of the study findings for the university's initiatives.

Young people's health needs in Botswana: a challenge for nursing.

The health needs and problems of young people in Botswana are embedded in the sociocultural, economic and political settings in which they grow up. Recognition of young people as a unique group can help minimize the problems and meet their total needs. In Botswana they are subjected to many problems that impact negatively on their development and welfare. These problems pose a daunting challenge to such service providers as nurses, community leaders, parents and young people themselves.

The phenomenon of hand holding as a coping strategy in adolescents experiencing treatment-related pain.

The purpose of this study was to understand the phenomenon of hand holding as a coping strategy used by adolescents to deal with treatment-related pain. The convenience sample consisted of 20 adolescents whose ages were 11 to 19 years: 10 had cancer and 10 had renal disease (this served as the comparison group). Using a descriptive design, a semistructured interview was conducted with each adolescent. To supplement and support interview data, structured observations were conducted as adolescents underwent painful treatments (eg, blood draws, shunt placement, peripheral chemotherapy, lumbar punctures, and bone marrow aspirations). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative analytic techniques similar to those delineated by Strauss and Corbin. The results of this study indicated that subjects in both the cancer and the renal disease group perceived hand holding to be a very effective coping strategy in ameliorating treatment-related pain. Overwhelmingly the patients preferred to hold their mother's hand. When the mother was unavailable, they preferred to hold a specific nurse's hand. Hand holding functioned to reduce tension associated with impending treatments, as a source of distraction, and as a source of security. Accordingly, adolescents' subjective experience of treatment-related pain was reduced when they felt more secure, less tense, and were distracted.