Developing a Computerized Brief Cognitive Screening Battery for Botswana: A Feasibility Study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the feasibility of using a brief computerized battery for assessing cognition in citizens of Botswana. METHOD: A group of 134 healthy subjects were administered a brief computerized battery of tests (Stroop, Symbol Digit Modalities Test (c-SDMT), and 2 and 4 second versions of the Paced Visual Serial Addition Test (PVSAT)). Half the subjects were tested in English and the other half in Setswana. RESULTS: All subjects completed the 20 min battery. Participants administered the tests in English had more years of education (p < .001) and were more likely to be male (p = .024) than those administered the tests in Setswana. There were no significant cognitive differences between the English and Setswana groups. Predictors of cognition were education (c-SDMT, PVSAT 4 and 2 second versions), age (Stroop, c-SDMT), and sex (c-SDMT), with females performing better than males on the latter. Language was not associated with performance on any of the cognitive tests and there were no significant interactions between language and any of the demographic predictors of cognition. CONCLUSIONS: The results demonstrate that our brief computerized approach is feasible with similar findings obtained for both language groups. Two further phases to the development of the Botswana version of the brief computerized battery can now proceed. The first is to obtain normative data from a larger sample representative of Botswana society in general. The second will be to validate the cognitive measures in a sample of people with acquired brain injury using the normative data to determine thresholds for impairment.

Children's conceptions of AIDS, HIV and condoms: a study from Botswana.

This study aimed at exploring how young children in Botswana conceptualise AIDS, HIV and condoms. Data were collected from a sample of 75 children aged four to seven years who were asked to draw a picture about AIDS and tell a story about the drawing; this was followed by three questions in which participants were asked to explain what AIDS, HIV and a condom is. Narratives and responses were categorised and coded to enable statistical analysis. Most children had conceptions of AIDS (80.0%) and condoms (78.7%), but only 45.3% of HIV; the rationality attached to them varied widely at all ages. The results suggest that four- to seven-year-old children construct their own individual and unique meaning about AIDS, HIV and condoms and they also illustrate how children utilise their own experiences to arrive at their conclusions. Even when children narrated some correct HIV and AIDS information, their understanding of it contradicted its correct meaning. Children's interpretations of AIDS-related knowledge carried a potential for emotional distress. Many children had a negative conception of condoms associated with fear and the belief that a condom would cause illness and AIDS. The findings are of significance for parent education, HIV prevention education and for health care professionals providing antiretroviral treatment to children.