South African National HIV Prevalence,
Incidence, Behaviour and Communication
Survey: Formative Phase: Focus Group
Discussions - 2008
Presented by Professor Leickness SImbayi
Executive Director: Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and Health
Outline of the presentation
• Key objectives of the
study
• Background of the study
• Study population
• Research Methodology
• Procedure
• Ethical Considerations
• Current status of study
Background
• A large national study consisting of 51 focus groups among
adolescents and adults in all nine provinces was undertaken
by the HSRC in 2008.
• The study sought to help us understand the social contexts
that promote or inhibit safe sex practices.
• The focus group study investigated social values and norms
influencing sexual practices.
• Apart from further informing the development of additional
questions in the 2008 survey mentioned below, a Special
Issue will be submitted to a Qualitative journal
encompassing the various papers that have been written up
according to the topics discussed in the focus group
discussions.
Key objectives of the study
• To identify and understand the social values and cultural
norms that influence sexual behaviour in various settings
or situations
• To determine the acceptability of male circumcision
• To understand the decision-making processes of
teenagers in sexual risk taking
• To determine HIV risk perception
Study Population
 51 focus groups each consisting of between 8 and 12 people was
obtained using convenience sampling.
 Approximately 615 participants were involved in the study.
 9 issues were investigated in various combinations in each target
group:
• Teenage pregnancy
• Sugar daddy practices
• Sugar mommy practices
• Concurrent multiple sexual partnerships
• Sexual practices and behaviour as well as socio-economic factors
in informal settlement
• Sexual debut
• Sexual practice
• Child sexual abuse
• Male circumcision
Research Methodology
• A qualitative approach was used as it presents an
environment in which participants influence each
other as happens in life in relation to their
perceptions, feelings, and thinking about particular
issues.
• Several focus group guides on the various topics
mentioned earlier targeting specific categories of
people and different issues were investigated.
• Sessions were digitally audio recorded; data
translated and transcribed.
• Limitation in using focus groups: Focus groups do
not allow for generalization of the findings.
Procedure
Training:
• HSRC research staff from SAHA and the CEO’s Office as well
as a few external facilitators attended a 1-day training session
on how to conduct focus group discussions.
In the field:
• Permission was sought from relevant gate keepers for each
target group
• Once the groups were constituted appropriately, informed
consent, and informed assent was first administered in groups
before the actual focus group discussions were conducted.
Procedure continued
• The groups were run for up to 2 hours in a
language that was commonly used in a
particular area of the country.
• Sessions were digitally audio recorded. During
the groups the co-facilitator also kept session
notes, which were used to check transcripts for
accuracy
• Some light refreshments were served during the
focus group sessions.
• The audio recordings of each focus group
conducted ere saved in a specific file for
transcription purposes.
Ethical Considerations
• Ethical approval was sought and obtained from the HSRC’s
Research Ethics Committee (REC) and the CDC’s Institutional
Review Board (IRB).
• An Information Sheet was made available to all participants. In
addition, an Informed Consent Form was available for youths and
adults as well as parents/guardians of children aged 14-17 years
while an Informed Assent Form was available for children aged
14-17 years
• The original consent or assent forms which were in English were
both translated and back-translated (i.e., back into English)
independently by professional translators into the other 10
official national languages used in South Africa. The backtranslation insured the conceptual equivalence of the
translations.
Current Status of the study
As mentioned earlier a Special Issue containing all the papers written up from the focus group
discussions conducted, will be drafted. The table below shows the various topics as well as
the teams involved in the write-up of the papers which will be presented next.
SABSSM3 FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION PAPERS 2008
Topic
Staff members interested
Leader
Teenage Pregnancy
Dr Tabane
Prof Phaswana-Mafuya
Ms Mbelle
Ms Zungu
Prof Phaswana-Mafuya
Multiple
Partnerships
Ms Pezi
Ms Zungu
Ms Mehlomakulu
Dr Shisana
Ms Phaweni
Ms Pezi
Sugar Daddies
Mr Naidoo
Mr Mkhonto
Ms Kekana
CEO's Office
Ms Lewa
Ms Zungu
Sugar Mommies
Ms Matseke
Prof Phaswana-Mafuya
Ms Kekana
CEO's Office
Ms Banyini
Prof Phaswana-Mafuya
Informal
Settlements
Mr Mkhonto
CEO's Office
Ms Majaja
Dr Tabane
Ms Lewa
CEO's Office
Child sexual abuse
Ms Mehlomakulu
Ms Ncitakalo
Prof Simbayi
Ms Davids
Male circumcision
Prof Peltzer
Prof Geoffrey Setswe
Ms Phaweni
Ms Majaja
Ms Matseke
Prof Setswe
Sexual debut
Ms Mathambo
Ms Mbelle
Prof Setswe
Mr Ramlagan
CEO's Office
Prof Setswe
Sex Practices
Ms Cloete
Ms Davids
Mr Ramlagan
Prof Simbayi
Ms Ncitakalo
Prof Simbayi
Prof Simbayi
Thank you for your attention