Traditional Healers; HIV/AIDS and Company Programmes in South Africa

This paper explores the organisational structures of traditional healers; outlines their explanations of HIV/AIDS; and discusses how they can be integrated with company programmes. The South African Traditional Health Practitioners Act seeks to register; regulate and promote traditional healers; but its ability to do this depends on strong; formalised associations of traditional healers. The different forms of traditional healer groupings in South Africa are described along with the implications that their organisational structure has for knowledge; competition and service standards. Traditional healers' diverse and fluid beliefs about HIV and AIDS are explained together with ways in which cooperation between companies; allopathic medicine and African traditional healing practices could be promoted in workplace responses to HIV/AIDS. It is suggested that such collaboration should focus on 'windows of compatibility' rather than on overall agreement. Moreover; it is argued that any response to HIV/AIDS must be embedded within a wider set of agreements; the most critical being a genuine process of referral between the traditional and allopathic healthcare systems. Companies are in a strong position to initiate such reforms; and this would support the professionalisation of traditional healers as well as help coordinate a wider and more effective response to the HIV epidemic in South Africa

Workplace Peer Educators and Stress

Peer educators form an important component of company responses to HIV and AIDS. Based on interviews with peer educators working in and around a mining company in South Africa's North-West Province; the study examines the relationship between involvement in peer education and stress. The paper discusses how becoming a peer educator can be a response to the often personal stress brought about by the HIV epidemic. In addition; structural difficulties; skills deficiencies and other obstacles to effective communication with their peers can create stress. The stress that active peer education brings to individuals is discussed; particularly in regard to the embeddedness of peer educators within their communities. The need for confidentiality also magnifies stress in the case of individuals who disregard peer educators' advice. Peer educators face many stresses in managing and supporting their own lives; thus their (voluntary) work as peer educators should not be taken out of context. Using this approach; we discuss how the role of peer educator should be conceptualised and how they can be organised and supported in order that their stress be minimised and effective engagement maximised

Use and Neglect of Best-Practice HIV/AIDS Programme Guides by South African Companies

Numerous guidelines set out best-practice policies for HIV/AIDS interventions in the workplace. This study analysed 14 recognised codes and guidelines to gain an understanding of the theoretical consensus regarding the key components of best-practice workplace HIV/AIDS interventions. Nine key components of best practice were drawn from the analysis; interviews aimed to verify these components by determining the extent to which HIV/AIDS practitioners in South Africa share a similar understanding of best practice. Participants in a research questionnaire and semi-structured interviews included managers responsible for company HIV/AIDS programmes; HIV/AIDS experts; consultants; and disease management service providers. There was a high level of agreement between the practitioners who were interviewed and the codes and guidelines that were analysed concerning what best practice entails. However; reported usage of the recognised codes and guidelines to inform workplace HIV/AIDS interventions was low. Although large companies in South Africa may recognise certain interventions as examples of best practice; it appears that these are not being readily implemented. This appears to be partly because the cost-benefit of a recommended intervention is not immediately apparent or conclusive; and also because the concept of best practice with respect to workplace HIV/AIDS interventions is not yet fully accepted