Our Work

 

More than two-thirds of all HIV-infected adults worldwide live in sub-Saharan Africa
(SSA), a region that also has the highest rates of mortality due to diabetes and
undiagnosed cases of diabetes. The colliding epidemics of adult communicable and
non-communicable diseases in SSA also mean increasing numbers of men and
women are living with more than one diagnosis and managing multi-morbidities and
increasingly complex health needs. In working towards a global health goal that all
adults are able to live healthy and productive lives, feasible and effective programmes
and policies of treatment and prevention are required for markedly different health
conditions. Thus, identifying behavioural change strategies that can be incorporated
into a range of interventions targeting different diseases has potential for considerable
public health benefits.
Central to this proposed research programme are the value of couples-focused
behaviour change strategies for health intervention research and practice in sub-
Saharan Africa. The aim of this five-year programme is to contribute to the design and
evaluation of interventions for couples affected by HIV, other STIs and, diabetes in
South Africa.

Our research is undertaken in partnership with two South African institutions: Human Sciences Research Council and University of
Cape Town.

The research has three strands:

1. adapting an existing intervention to substantially enhance promotion of couples HIV testing and counselling among
   couples who have never tested together for HIV or mutually disclosed their status;
2. developing a couples-focused intervention for couples where one partner has
   diabetes; and,
3. establishing a research agenda in couples-focused health research in SSA.

The programme also seeks to develop capacity in the design of complex interventions, models and theory of behavioural change, quantitative dyadic analyses and, will support other research sites in SSA to prepare for couples-focused research and evaluation.