Counselling experiences among men having sex with men and living with HIV in Malaysia.

PURPOSE: In Malaysia, the trend of HIV transmission has shifted from intravenous drug use to sexual intercourse, and men who have sex with men (MSM) have become the main driver due to high-risk sexual behaviour. Thus, treatment and care, which also involves counselling, for men who have sex with men and who are living with HIV (MSM living with HIV) are crucial. This study aims to explore the experiences of MSM living with HIV and participating in counselling session during treatment and care at two public hospitals. METHOD: This qualitative study with a grounded-theory approach was conducted at two public hospitals in Malaysia. Five participants who were MSM living with HIV were selected through purposive sampling. They participated in semi-structured interviews, non-participant observations, and diary entries, each of which was conducted three times. The data were analysed using grounded theory with N-Vivo 8 to determine themes. RESULT: The participants were found to experience feelings of emptiness and hopelessness because of their unreadiness to accept their HIV status. These feelings made their participation in counselling sessions challenging. Consequently, the participants found counselling sessions unhelpful due to their unwillingness to participate in the counselling relationship. CONCLUSION: The findings of the study highlight the need for counselling sessions to focus more on feelings related to unreadiness to improve the self-esteem and ability to create positive relationships with others of MSM living with HIV. It is also important to strengthen the training and skills among HIV counsellors to enhance counselling services for these men.

Engaging with people living with HIV: challenges experienced by Malaysian counsellors.

People living with HIV (PLHIV) suffer from mental issues and need emotional support. Counselling is a part of HIV and AIDS care and management, and provides emotional support to PLHIV. Knowledge about HIV and AIDS care and management is not part of the counselling training curriculum in Malaysia. This study aims to explore the challenges experienced by registered counsellors who engage in counselling sessions with PLHIV. A total of five counsellors participated in this qualitative research. Data were gathered through a series of semi-structured interviews, and each of the interviews was conducted within one and half hours. Each of the participants was interviewed three times. The interviews were audio-recorded with the consent of the participants. The emergent themes were further explored in subsequent interviews until thematic saturation was reached, and data were analysed based on the grounded theory approach. The findings showed that lack of knowledge, limited training, and stigma among the registered counsellors contributed to resistance and poor trust among the PLHIV. Knowledge concerning the care and management of HIV and AIDS can be incorporated in a counselling training programme, and ongoing training related to HIV and AIDS are required.

SMS Text Messages for Parents for the Prevention of Child Drowning in Bangladesh: Acceptability Study.

BACKGROUND: In many cases, greater use is being made of mobile phone text messages as a means of communication between patients and health care providers in countries around the world. OBJECTIVE: We studied the use of mobile phones and the factors related to the acceptability of text messages for parents for the prevention of child drowning in Bangladesh. METHODS: From a randomized controlled trial involving 800 parents, 10% (80/800) were selected, and socioeconomic status, mobile phone use, and acceptability of SMS text messages for drowning prevention were measured. Participants with at least one child under 5 years of age were selected from rural areas in Rajshahi District in Bangladesh. Mobile phone-based SMS text messages were sent to the participants. Multivariate regression was used to determine the factors related to the acceptability of text messages for the prevention of child drowning in Bangladesh. RESULTS: The acceptability of SMS text messages for the prevention of child drowning in Bangladesh was significantly lower among women (odds ratio [OR] 0.50, 95% CI 0.12-1.96, P=.02) than among men, lower for parents older than 30 years (OR 0.17, 95% CI 0.14-1.70, P=.01) compared to parents younger than 30 years, higher among parents who had an education (OR 1.63, 95% CI 1.11-5.80, P=.04) than among illiterate parents, and higher among parents with a monthly household income over 7000 Bangladeshi Taka (approximately US $82.54; OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.06-1.96, P=.05) than among parents whose monthly income was less than 7000 Bangladeshi Taka. CONCLUSIONS: The high percentage of mobile phone use and the acceptability of SMS text messages for parents for the prevention of child drowning are encouraging, in terms of identifying the best strategy for using such technologies, and deserve further evaluation.

Relationship and career challenges faced by people infected with HIV in Malaysia.

Background: This study was completed at two general hospitals in Malaysia that provide treatment for HIV patients. The aim of the study was to explore the experiences of people infected with HIV (PIWH) and how they cope with HIV. Methods: This qualitative study was based on a social constructivist and grounded theory approach. A total of 12 PIWH were selected by purposive sampling, all of whom participated in semi-structured and audio-recorded interviews, which were supported with non-participant observations and diary entries on three occasions for each participant. The interviews and diaries were transcribed and analysed using the grounded theory approach, which was assisted by utilizing NVIVO-8 to identify the themes related to the experiences of the participants. Results: PIWH experienced challenges related to their career and relationships with family and others. These challenges led to difficulties in gaining employment and career development, as well as feelings of denial, being uncomfortable, rejection, and labelling. They found that their lives were totally and dramatically changed after being tested positive for HIV. Conclusions: Among PIWH, HIV impacted relationships with significant others and career development. The absence of support and acceptance from significant others affected the ability of PIWH to cope with their daily challenges. The results of this study have implications for policymakers in terms of gaining sufficient knowledge and awareness to provide prevention programmes for HIV/AIDS.