Peer-Reviewed Publications
Incentives matter: An experiment in participant engagement from a family-centred adolescent HIV prevention programme in South Africa
Engaging beneficiaries in family-centred interventions is a well-documented challenge; this study assessed the effect of incentives on participant engagement in a family-centred HIV prevention programme among caregiver and adolescent groups in KwaZulu Natal.
Citation: Spyrelis, A., Taylor, T.M., Thurman, T.R. (2022) Incentives matter: An experiment in participant engagement from a family-centred adolescent HIV prevention programme in South Africa Children & Society, 00:1-11.
Pathways to sexual health communication between adolescent girls and their female caregivers participating in a structured HIV prevention intervention in South Africa (2020)
Understanding how to foster communication about sexual health between adolescent girls and their caregivers can help improve HIV prevention programming. This analysis explores the role of caregiver knowledge, caregiver-adolescent relationship quality, and mental health among Let’s Talk participant pairs on sexual health communication.
Citation: Thurman, T.R., Nice, J., Visser, M., Luckett, B.G (2020). Pathways to sexual health communication between adolescent girls and their female caregivers participating in a structured HIV prevention intervention in South Africa. Social Science & Medicine, SSM 113168.
Can family-centered programming mitigate HIV risk factors among orphaned and vulnerable adolescents? Results from a pilot study in South Africa (2018)
Let’s Talk is designed to address individual HIV risk factors common among orphaned and vulnerable adolescents, including psychological health problems and sexual risk behavior. These efforts are accentuated through parallel programing to support caregivers’ mental health and parenting skills. Results from this pilot study focus on a range of outcomes across these domains.
Citation: Tonya Renee Thurman, Johanna Nice, Brian Luckett & Maretha Visser (2018). Can family-centered programing mitigate HIV risk factors among orphaned and vulnerable adolescents? Results from a pilot study in South Africa. AIDS Care, 30:9, 1135-1143.
Development and formative evaluation of a family-centred adolescent HIV prevention programme in South Africa (2018)
Evidence suggests that family-centred HIV prevention interventions may be associated with greater reductions in adolescent risk behaviour than standard adolescent-only models. Despite this, family-centred models are nearly non-existent in South Africa. This paper describes the development and formative evaluation of one such intervention: Let’s Talk, an evidence-informed, locally relevant, adolescent prevention intervention engaging caregivers as co-participants.
Citation: Visser, M., Thurman, T. R., Spyrelis, A., Taylor, T. M., Nice, J. K., & Finestone, M. (2018). Development and formative evaluation of a family-centered adolescent HIV prevention programme in South Africa. Evaluation and Program Planning, 68, 124-134.
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