Survey of HIV/AIDS Clients in Botswana: Reactions to Supportive Counselling

A survey of HIV/AIDS clients in Botswana, Africa, all of whom were receiving supportive counselling, was conducted. A total of 328 volunteer clients from randomly selected sites completed the survey related to client perceptions of counselling helpfulness, outlook on life, satisfaction with goal setting in counselling, experience of social stigma, and acceptance by family and others. Overall, clients were very positive concerning the benefits received from counselling, their relationship with their counsellor, the goal setting process, their family/friends support system and their present quality of life. The majority of clients did, however, indicate some level of feeling stigmatized by being HIV-positive. Additional major findings indicated that clients with family incomes of less than 10 K pula per year (around US$1 k) were less positive about their counselling and related experiences than were those with higher levels of family income, with the exception of social stigma where lower family income was associated with less perceived social stigma. Clients reporting counselling sessions lasting more than 15 min were generally more positive in their reactions to counselling and related experiences than were clients reporting sessions typically lasting 15 min or less. A discussion of the findings, along with recommendations for areas needing further study and attention, is provided.     

Counselling the retrenched workers in Nigeria

Worker retrenchment on a massive scale was introduced in Nigeria by the Military Government a few months after the overthrow of the civilian regime at the close of 1983. It was regarded as one of the short term measures to resuscitate the depressed economy through the reduction of overhead costs. Paradoxically, mass retrenchment of workers has brought about devastating side effects such as an insidious inflammation of psychosocial problems that call for psychotherapeutic activities by counsellors.The retrenchment effect has been most experienced by ethmic minorities, the poor and less educated Nigerians. A sample of 500 retrenched workers has revealed a variety of devastating psychosocial effects such as deteriorating self-esteem, general irritability, stomach ulcers, a tendency to commit crimes, high blood pressure and heart diseases, financial emaciation and depression. Counselling strategies such as vocational counselling, rational counselling and educational counselling for minorities have been recommended.Paper presented at IRTAC 1985, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands, July 15–19, 1985.     

South African First-Year Students' Counselling Needs and Preferred Counselling Sources

This study investigated the personal career andlearning skills needs of first-year universitystudents and their preferred counsellingsources. Respondents completed structuredquestionnaires assessing their needs andpreferred counselling sources (n = 1292). Respondents expressed a preference for lecturesand professional help outside the university. They selected only five of forty two items forwhich they desired individual counselling. Knowing the preferred sources of counsellinghelp desired by clients would enable a betterservice and referral system.     

Meeting the challenge of HIV and AIDS in the classroom

Contemporary early childhood teachers are facing new challenges as children who test HIV positive or who have AIDS enter the classroom. Providing appropriate health care and educational programs for these children is a major concern of teachers. This article presents a brief discussion of guidelines and issues that might be addressed in an in-service for teachers in general education to prepare them for a student with HIV or AIDS in their classrooms.     

The role of teachers in sex education and the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria

Research was undertaken to assess the role of primary school teachers with regard to the prevention and control of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria. Structured and semi‐structured questionnaires were responded to by 210 teachers drawn from primary schools in Eastern Nigeria (with pupils aged 6–15 years). These were supplemented by focus group discussions and key informant interviews. The findings show that the teachers have a reasonably high knowledge of the modes of HIV transmission, the behavioural risk factors and modes of prevention. The teachers, however, are reluctant to teach this because of socio‐cultural and religious factors, lack of teacher training in delivery of sex education as well as poor motivation. The motivation and participation of primary school teachers in the prevention of HIV in Nigeria are very low. This calls for serious and urgent policy intervention to remedy the situation and increase the role of primary school teachers in combating the spread of HIV/AIDS in Nigeria.     

Meeting Primary Needs

A primary school's approach to differentiation is described by Maggie Hunt, head of Oliver's Battery School, Winchester. She sees the commitment and enthusiasm of pupils, school staff and local authority support services as important factors for success.     

Considering the Challenges of Counselling Practice in Schools

School counselling is developing rapidly in many countries around the World. As with any practice in a secondary setting, challenges and special issues are often identified, discussed, and managed. These can be categorized into four distinct domains: 1) Internal challenges, which include issues related to clientele groups, teachers’ attitudes towards counselling, and students’ willingness to seek counseling; 2) External challenges, which refer to social-economic changes beyond the school. These include popular culture, globalization and societal trends of more families and students moving across borders; 3) Systems challenges, which are those within the guidance programmes implemented by ministries, schools or counselling bodies. These issues may reside in the guidelines for practice in schools, referral procedures, and resource planning; 4) Personal challenges, which relate to the needs as well as the skills of the counsellor. Some examples here are training, supervision, and attitudes towards school systems. The four domains and interactions among them are discussed in this paper.     

Challenges and transformations: Counselling in a multicultural context

During the last two decades counselling in a multicultural context has been on the increase with more and more training programmes now including issues of race, culture and ethnicity. This has led to numerous approaches, for example transcultural, inter-cultural, cross-cultural, multicultural, Afro-centric, anti-racist and black feminist, which define counselling with minority groups. Although many of these approaches have a sound theoretical base, they nevertheless remain marginal in terms of convincing the minority communities of their value and effectiveness. This is clearly seen in the pre-mature termination and lack of participation by minorities in counselling and therapy. The chief criticism against counselling throughout this period is that, it has remained essentially, Eurocentric, ethnocentric and individualistic. Culture-sensitive counsellors and counselling within a "culture fit" model have been suggested as a way of making the process more appropriate to a diversity of cultures. Furthermore, this has led to some practitioners strongly advocating the inclusion of socio-economic and political constructs as part of a broader definition of multicultural counselling. For example, the issues of power and influence, cultural hegemony, racism and masculinities are becoming key schemas in cross cultural counselling practices. The challenge for multicultural counselling, in the next decade, would be to include traditional healing practices as part of its discourse, if it is to encourage the active participation of ethnicminorities. This paper is an attempt to explore some of these challenges and highlight some of the transformations that are taking place within multicultural counselling. Finally, through a discussion of a case vignette, the paper illustrates the need to accommodate traditional healing methods in counselling the culturally diverse client.     

What Older Adults Know about HIV/AIDS: Lessons from an HIV/AIDS Education Program

Despite being one of the fastest growing segments of the HIV/AIDS caseload, persons age 50 and older have been largely neglected in terms of HIV/AIDS education. This study describes a project involving HIV-related health education for persons ≥50 in an urban area of Ohio. Data from 50 persons age ≥50 were collected. Pre-and postsurveys were used in the completion of repeated measures ANOVA, and focus groups provided qualitative data. Despite a paucity of available educational materials addressing HIV/AIDS, older adults are willing to participate in sessions about HIV/AIDS. Findings suggest the need for alternative approaches to providing HIV/AIDS education.     

Maintenance Needs of Educational Equipment in Nigeria

Educational equipment is very important for supplementing the efforts of the teacher, and most educational institutions in Nigeria, especially the secondary and tertiary ones, spend substantial allocations of their annual budgets for purchasing educational hardware. However, much of the purchased equipment is abandoned in the stores, offices or classrooms shortly after acquisition. This paper describes a questionnaire survey of technicians involved in the repair and maintenance of educational equipment, seeking explanations for the frequent breakdown of educational equipment and suggestions on how to reduce the problem. Recommendations are offered for improving the situation     

Meeting Special Needs in Mainstream Classrooms

Advice on classroom practice for helping pupils with a variety of special educational needs in mainstream settings is given by Dr Ann Hodgson, research officer, National Foundation for Educational Research.     

Experiences of HIV/AIDS Counselors in Zimbabwe and Their Perceptions on the State of HIV/AIDS Counseling in Zimbabwe

This study investigated Zimbabwean counselors' experiences of providing HIV/AIDS counseling and their perceptions about the state of HIV/AIDS counseling in Zimbabwe. The participants were a diverse group of counselors, 30 through 59 years of age, who provided counseling services to HIV/AIDS clients. Participants thought HIV/AIDS counselors in Zimbabwe received minimal support and supervision and were undertrained. They identified that the first sessions with clients were the most difficult. They also found it problematic to work with couples who were serodiscordant (one partner who is HIV positive and the other HIV negative) and couples wanting children. The later stages of the counseling process were also found to be challenging. Though the participants acknowledged they had negative psychological experiences when counseling HIV/AIDS clients, they also expressed feelings of satisfaction and fulfillment in their work.     

Moral Development,HIV/AIDS Knowledge,and Attitude toward HIV/AIDS among Counseling Students in the United States

People living with HIV/AIDS will likely require services from mental health professionals to address the complex psychosocial effects of the illness. In the United States, counseling students are not likely to be well prepared to serve clients affected by HIV/AIDS, and little is known about their HIV-related knowledge and attitudes. The present study assessed the moral development, HIV/AIDS knowledge, and attitudes toward HIV/AIDS among a national sample of counseling students in the United States. Results indicated that students held biases toward people living with HIV/AIDS and that their attitudes toward HIV/AIDS were inversely related to their level of moral development.     

HIV/AIDS School-based Education in Selected Asia-Pacific Countries

This paper describes findings from a recent UNAIDS-funded study of how education systems in selected countries in East Asia, South East Asia and the Pacific are responding to HIV/AIDS-related education. Data were collected by means of postal questionnaire and key informant interviews in Brunei, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Thailand and Vietnam. Sources of information varied but included ministries, non-governmental organisations and other interested bodies. Findings suggest that the education provided is largely information-based, but with a developing emphasis on life-skills such as assertiveness and negotiation. Specific sexual practices are rarely discussed in the region's schools, except in a somewhat mechanistic way, focusing mainly on human reproduction and anatomy. However, those countries most affected by the epidemic are beginning to re-think their approaches. An increasing openness about sexual and drug injecting practices, and how to communicate these issues with young people, is beginning to become apparent.     

对同性恋者的歧视加重非洲艾滋病危机

令人震惊的陈述——医护工作者羞辱HIV呈阳性的同性恋患者：“他死了，我想，他的死部分是由于走投无路。”     

运城市艾滋病流行现状及对策

分析了运城市艾滋病的流行形势与存在问题,提出了预防控制艾滋病的有效措施、防治对策。