'I was trying to get there, but I couldn't': social norms, vulnerability and lived experiences of home delivery in Mashonaland Central Province, Zimbabwe.

Increasing facility-based delivery rates is pivotal to reach Sustainable Development Goals to improve skilled attendance at birth and reduce maternal and neonatal mortality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The translation of global health initiatives into national policy and programmes has increased facility-based deliveries in LMICs, but little is known about the impact of such policies on social norms from the perspective of women who continue to deliver at home. This qualitative study explores the reasons for and experiences of home delivery among women living in rural Zimbabwe. We analysed qualitative data from 30 semi-structured interviews and 5 focus group discussions with women who had delivered at home in the previous 6 months in Mashonaland Central Province. We found evidence of strong community-level social norms in favour of facility-based delivery. However, despite their expressed intention to deliver at a facility, women described how multiple, interacting vulnerabilities resulted in delivery outside of a health facility. While identified as having delivered 'at home', narratives of birth experiences revealed the majority of women in our study delivered 'on the road', en route to the health facility. Strong norms for facility-based delivery created punishments and stigmatization for home delivery, which introduced additional risk to women at the time of delivery and in the postnatal period. These consequences for breaking social norms promoting facility-based delivery for all further increased the vulnerability of women who delivered at home or on the road. Our findings highlight that equitable public health policy and programme designs should include efforts to actively identify, mitigate and evaluate unintended consequences of social change created as a by-product of promoting positive health behaviours among those most vulnerable who are unable to comply.

Antenatal depression: an examination of prevalence and its associated factors among pregnant women attending Harare polyclinics.

BACKGROUND: Antenatal depression is the most prevalent common mental health disorder affecting pregnant women. Here, we report the prevalence of and associated factors for antenatal depression among pregnant women attending antenatal care services in Harare, Zimbabwe. METHODS: From January-April 2018, 375 pregnant women, aged 16-46 years, residing mostly in Harare's high-density suburbs were recruited from two randomly-selected polyclinics. Antenatal depression was measured using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV. Sociodemographic data including; maternal age, education, marital status, economic status, obstetric history and experiences with violence were also collected. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to determine the association between antenatal depression and participants' characteristics. RESULTS: The prevalence of antenatal depression was 23.47% (95% CI: 19.27-28.09). Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed intimate partner violence (IPV) [OR 2.45 (95% CI: 1.47-4.19)] and experiencing negative life events [OR 2.02 (95% CI: 1.19-3.42)] as risk factors for antenatal depression, with being married/cohabiting [OR 0.45 (95% CI: 0.25-0.80)] being a protective factor. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of antenatal depression is high with associated factors being interpersonal. Context-specific interventions are therefore needed to address the complexity of the factors associated with antenatal depression.

Increased risk of HIV-infection among school-attending orphans in rural Zimbabwe.

In Zimbabwe around 1.1 million children have been orphaned due to AIDS. We conducted a survey among school-attending youth in rural south-eastern Zimbabwe in 2003, and examined the association between orphaning and risk of HIV. We enrolled 30 communities in three provinces. All students attending Year 2 of secondary school were eligible. Each completed a questionnaire and provided a finger-prick blood specimen for testing for HIV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies. Female participants were tested for pregnancy. Six thousand seven hundred and ninety-one participants were recruited (87% of eligible); 35% had lost one or both parents (20% of participants had lost their father; 6% their mother; and 9% both parents). Orphans were not poorer than non-orphans based on reported access to income, household structure and ownership of assets. There was strong evidence that orphans, and particularly those who had lost both parents, were at increased sexual risk, being more likely to have experienced early sexual debut; to have been forced to have sex; and less likely to have used condoms. Fifty-one students were HIV positive (0.75%). Orphans were three times more likely to be HIV infected than non-orphans (adjusted odds ratio = 3.4; 95% confidence interval: 1.8-6.6). Over 60% of those HIV positive were orphaned. Among school-going youth, the rates of orphaning were very high; there was a strong association between orphaning and increased risk of HIV, and evidence of greater sexual risk taking among orphans. It is essential that we understand the mechanisms by which orphaned children are at increased risk of HIV in order to target prevention and support appropriately.

A randomised placebo-controlled trial to explore the effect of suppressive therapy with acyclovir on genital shedding of HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus type 2 among Zimbabwean sex workers.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the effect of daily acyclovir on genital shedding of HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in a randomised placebo-controlled trial among rural Zimbabwean sex workers. METHODS: 214 women were recruited and tested for HIV-1 and HSV-2 antibodies, HIV plasma viral load, CD4 lymphocyte count and genital swabs for qualitative detection of HIV-1 and HSV-2 genital shedding. Women were randomly assigned to acyclovir 400 mg twice a day for 12 weeks or matching placebo and were followed weekly to detect HIV-1 or HSV-2 genital shedding. Shedding analyses were only undertaken on 125 women co-infected with HSV-2 and HIV-1. Data were analysed using logistic regression, with random effects modelling used to account for repeated measurements on the same women. RESULTS: All women were randomly assigned to acyclovir or placebo; 125 of whom were co-infected with HIV-1 and HSV-2. 69 women were randomly assigned to acyclovir and 56 to placebo. Although twice daily acyclovir reduced rates of HSV-2 genital shedding, (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 0.24; 95% CI 0.12 to 0.48; less than p<0.001), it had no effect on the proportion of visits at which HIV-1 shedding was detected (AOR 1.08; 95% CI 0.48 to 2.42; p = 0.9). Adherence varied between participants but even when adherence was high (as determined by pill count and extent of HSV-2 suppression) HIV-1 shedding was not reduced. CONCLUSION: Among these HIV-1 and HSV-2-seropositive women, suppressive acyclovir therapy had no effect on the rate of HIV genital shedding despite a reduction in genital HSV-2. Treatment adherence and its measurement clearly affect the interpretation of these results.

Developing complex interventions for rigorous evaluation--a case study from rural Zimbabwe.

Much attention has been placed on the need to develop and evaluate complex interventions targeting public health issues, such as reproductive health. However, and as has been the case in the recent past, even well-designed trials will be flawed unless meticulous attention is paid to ensuring the most appropriate intervention is designed and developed. This requires a well-resourced and carefully planned feasibility study, incorporating both formative and process evaluation, with particular attention being paid to the context of the proposed intervention. In this paper, we describe the way in which a feasibility study helped redesign and shape a complex intervention targeting adolescent sexual health in rural Zimbabwe. By using a mixture of in-depth interviews, focus groups and participant observation with pupils, parents, teachers and education officers, we were able to show that the intervention as originally conceived was unlikely to be deliverable. Process evaluation findings from the feasibility study led to substantial changes to both the content and delivery of the proposed intervention, which is now subject to testing for effectiveness in a large community randomized trial.

Improving young people's access to reproductive health care in rural Zimbabwe.

The aim of this study was to explore ways to improve the accessibility of clinics for young people with reproductive health problems in rural Zimbabwe. This study, which took place in rural Masvingo, was part of a project to develop a comprehensive adolescent reproductive health intervention for Zimbabwean youth. Six focus group discussions were held with secondary school pupils aged 16-19; four focus group discussions were held with nurses. Additionally, 16 community meetings with parents of adolescents were observed. The data were analyzed using the principles of grounded theory: three main categories and several sub-categories emerged from the data. The accessibility of existing services for young people was poor, partly because nurses were reluctant to provide such services due to lack of clarity in legislation and also through fear of condoning adolescent sexual activity. Although the clinical acumen of staff was recognized as sound, service delivery was perceived to be judgemental and lacking in confidentiality and privacy. This reflects the cultural context in which services are delivered. Culturally, adolescents are deemed to be children and as such to have few rights. There is a widely held belief that teaching young people about sex will promote sexual activity. Our findings suggested that staff training should focus on attitudinal rather than medical issues.