ANTI-RETROVIRAL THERAPY: The perceptions of Female sex workers using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) on their use of PrEP at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Soweto.
Date
2018
Authors
Vuma, Gloria
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Abstract
Background: In South Africa PrEP was primarily intended for sex workers, who have the highest HIV prevalence in South Africa and experience high levels of stigma and discrimination in societies. The services that have been put into place in partnership with the targeted group which is the sex workers are user-friendly. Yet the conclusion to use PrEP remains an individual choice and no one is coerced into using it.Purpose: The aim of this study is to explore the perceptions of women sex workers using Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis regarding their experiences on using PrEP as one of the antiretroviral drugs recently brought in South Africa as prevention from HIV, (the study will be conducted specifically at the Perinatal HIV Research Unit; situated in Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital, Soweto). The Secondary objectives of this study are; to explore the experiences of women sex workers on the use of PrEP, to explore the experiences and perceptions of women sex workers who use PrEP on unprotected sex and to explore what influences women sex workers to take PrEP regardless of the number of side effects versus its health benefits. Method: The study is qualitative as it will be exploring people’s lived experiences, their opinions and their subjective truths, and it will make use of case study individual interviews (semi-structured interviews) to collect data. The sample to be used includes 2 women sex workers who are PrEP users in the Baragwanath Hospital and have used PrEP for more than four months. A Narrative analysis will be used when analysing the data that will be gathered from the research study. Findings: The findings are presented in a form of themes that emerged as a result of the data collected through the interview schedules. The findings are also related to other studies with a similar interest to the study topic. Overall the findings suggested just PrEP is a harmful and an effective drug for preventing HIV.
KEY WORDS:
Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis
HIV prevention
Unsafe sex
Women at risk of HIV
Description
A research proposal presented to
The Department of Social Work
School of Human and Community Development
Faculty of Humanities
University of the Witwatersrand
In partial fulfilment of the requirements
For the Degree Bachelor of Social Work