Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
International Center for Child Health and Development, Brown School, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Feb 6;23(1):249. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15083-2.
The HIV burden remains a critical public health concern and adolescent girls are at significantly higher risk compared to the general adult population. Similar to other sub-Saharan African countries, Uganda reports high HIV prevalence among adolescent girls and young women. Yet, both evidence-based HIV prevention interventions and their acceptability among adolescent girls have not been widely studied. In this study, we examined the acceptability of the Suubi4Her intervention, an evidence-based combination intervention aimed at reducing HIV risk among adolescent girls in Uganda.
We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 25 adolescent girls upon intervention completion to explore their experiences with the Suubi4Her intervention that was tested in a clinical trial in Uganda (2017-2023). Specifically, we explored their decision-making process for participating in the intervention, experiences with program attendance, and their feedback on specific intervention characteristics. Informed by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability, the data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
The main motivation for participation was access to health-related information, including information on STIs, HIV, and pregnancy as well as information on banking, saving, and income-generating activities. Though many participants did not have any initial concerns, mistrust of programs, initial paperwork, caregiver's ability to commit time, concerns about ability to save, and HIV/STI and pregnancy testing were raised by some participants. Facilitators to session attendance included motivation to learn information, caregiver commitment, reminder calls, and incentives received for participation. The main challenges included household responsibilities and obligations, difficulty raising transport money, and weather challenges. Adolescent girls appreciated the group format and found the location and times of the sessions convenient. They also found the content relevant to their needs and noted positive changes in their families.
The results showed high intervention acceptability among adolescent girls. These findings have important programmatic and policy implications in Uganda, especially given the higher HIV prevalence among adolescent girls in the country.
NCT03307226 (Registered: 10/11/17).
艾滋病毒负担仍然是一个重大的公共卫生关注点，青少年女孩与普通成年人群相比，面临着更高的风险。与其他撒哈拉以南非洲国家一样，乌干达报告称，青少年女孩和年轻妇女的艾滋病毒感染率很高。然而，基于证据的艾滋病毒预防干预措施及其在青少年女孩中的可接受性尚未得到广泛研究。在这项研究中，我们研究了 Suubi4Her 干预措施的可接受性，这是一种基于证据的综合干预措施，旨在减少乌干达青少年女孩的艾滋病毒风险。
我们在干预完成后对 25 名青少年女孩进行了半结构式深入访谈，以探讨她们对 Suubi4Her 干预措施的经验，该干预措施在乌干达的一项临床试验中进行了测试（2017-2023 年）。具体而言，我们探讨了她们参与干预措施的决策过程、参加项目的经验以及对特定干预措施特征的反馈。根据可接受性的理论框架，对数据进行了主题分析。
参与的主要动机是获得与健康相关的信息，包括性传播感染、艾滋病毒和怀孕方面的信息以及银行、储蓄和创收活动方面的信息。虽然许多参与者最初没有任何顾虑，但一些参与者对项目表示不信任、对初始文书工作的担忧、照顾者能否投入时间、对储蓄能力的担忧、艾滋病毒/性传播感染和怀孕测试的担忧。参加会议的促进因素包括学习信息的动机、照顾者的承诺、提醒电话和参与的奖励。主要挑战包括家庭责任和义务、筹集交通费的困难以及天气挑战。青少年女孩喜欢小组形式，认为会议地点和时间方便。他们还认为内容与他们的需求相关，并注意到家庭的积极变化。
研究结果表明，青少年女孩对干预措施的接受度很高。这些发现对乌干达具有重要的计划和政策意义，特别是考虑到该国青少年女孩的艾滋病毒感染率较高。
NCT03307226（注册：2017 年 10 月 11 日）。
