Browsing by Author "Mapfumo, C."

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    HIV knowledge, risky behaviours and public health care services attendance among adolescents from the Grassroot soccer Zimbabwe programme
    (2020) Mzingwane, M.L.; Mavondo, G.A.; Mantula, F.; Mapfumo, C.; Gwatiringa, C.; Moyo, B.; Dube, P.; Chaibva, C.N.
    Background: Interventions aimed at improving accessing of health care services, including HIV testing, remain a priority in global HIV eradication efforts. Grassroot Soccer Zimbabwe (GRSZ) is an adolescent health organisation that uses the popularity of soccer to promote healthy behaviours. We assessed HIV knowledge levels, riskybehaviours and attitudes in school going adolescents and young adults who attended GRSZ programmes and determined if HIV knowledge levels were associated with increased levels of accessing of health care services by youths. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study carried out on 450 participants aged 13–30 years who attended at least one of the three programmes offered by GRSZ. Self-administered and self-reporting questionnaires were used to collect information on participants’ demographics, knowledge on HIV and reproductive health, sources of information, access to HIV and reproductive health services and attitudes and risky behaviours. Results: A total of 392 (87.1%) responses were received. High HIV and reproductive health knowledge levels were recorded (77.7%) on our scale with females recording higher levels (81.1%) than males (71.1%). The majority of participants (72%) indicated willingness to abstain from risky behaviours such as use of drugs and attending youth sex parties. However about 33.3% of the participants who had sexual intercourse reported having condomless sex. There was marginal association between high HIV and reproductive health knowledge levels and accessing health care services in the past 24 months (p = 0.045). Conclusions: HIV and reproductive health knowledge levels were relatively high among adolescents and were associated with accessing health care services in the past 24 months. There however are some gaps associated with engaging in risky sexual behaviours such as condomless sex which could be addressed by using these findings to assist organizations working with adolescents, educators and policy makers in developing programmes that address adolescent sexual behaviours.
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    Secondary School Teachers, Their Views and Roles in Grassroots Soccer as an Intervention Anti-HIV/AIDS Propagation Tool
    (2020) Mavondo, G.A.; Mzingwnane, M.L.; Chaibva, C.N.; Gwatiringa, C.; Mapfumo, C.; Mantula, F.
    The GRSZ projects were aimed at bridging the gap between adolescents’ unwanted social behaviours and societal norms and values fashioned by the breakdown of family and society cultural practices, as a measure to militate against the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst adolescents, adolescent unwanted pregnancy and gender-based violence using soccer as a medium of learning. The program deliberately circumvented involvement of Secondary School Teacher during planning and implementation hoping to have a clean intervention strategy without the encumbrances and confounders possibly introduced by the societal authority figure. However, a for continuity and adaptation of the program into the school curriculum as a behaviour change catalyst, the Secondary School Teacher is pivotal. The evaluation sought to delineate the views and roles of this cadre as determinants and guidelines towards the successful translating of GRSZ experimental work into the real-life school environment. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted by trained and qualified interviewers who formed the team of evaluators at various selected school during the teacher’s working hours. A pre-prepared interview guide constructed and reviewed by the panel of evaluators as well as the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe was used to conduct the guided interview. The researchers brought the interview guides to selected schools where appointments had been made prior by the Key Researcher. The interviews were held on the same day other surveys at the school. A total of 11 (five females and six males) Secondary Schools Teachers with more had in-depth interviews carried out after which saturation was reached. Results: The majority of adolescents (62.2%) reported the teacher as their source of information on HIV and reproductive health and the mother followed a close second at 57.7% reflecting possibly contact hours as the factor. Teachers corroborated this information showing high eagerness to be involved in the GRSZ at the earliest given opportunity. Both males and females did agree that they were the closest role models and gave varied reasons as to why their influences were not adequate in shaping the life skills of adolescents under their watch. It was clear that teacher embraced and endorsed the GRSZ program expansion and their involvement in future cohorts. Conclusion and Recommendations: Teachers had high anticipation of involvement and showed dismay at not having been involved in the initial phases of the program where their contributions were most likely to have had a high impact through their possible engagement with the community to cement the gains of the program. They recommended that lifelong learning on HIV/AIDS prevention, unwanted pregnancies and gender-based violence need to be incorporated into all areas of learning at school and beyond. Expanding the program to other schools in Zimbabwe beyond Bulawayo was seen as an overdue process.