Background: Designing a need-based social protection intervention for children comes as comprehensive tool for addressing the overall quality of life of HIV positive children. Not much has been examined on what consti...Background: Designing a need-based social protection intervention for children comes as comprehensive tool for addressing the overall quality of life of HIV positive children. Not much has been examined on what constitute the desired social protection framework for HIV positive children. Methods: This study was informed by a qualitative descriptive exploratory design approach. The study drew insights from the shared perspectives of 27 participants sampled from positive HIV status disclosed children—10 - 17 years, healthcare workers, Social and Development worker, HIV positive caregivers and parents from 7 ART clinics in rural and urban Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions of Ghana. Data was collected through interviews and two focus group discussions with study participants. Drawing on the emerged themes from the transcripts, thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data using comparative thematic framework approach. Findings: The eclectic perspectives on the type of social protection policy/intervention preferred demonstrated the need for an interrelated and integrated social protection policy. This should not be designed in isolation towards addressing the child vulnerability. The study found that social protection policies aimed at addressing vulnerability levels of children should consider the dual vulnerability situation within which HIV positive children and adolescents are located. A set of unique specific tailored approach and package reflecting minimum combination social protection package to HIV positive children was considered essential for inclusion. The themes that emerged covered social policy/intervention package inclusive of a disease ending/eradication intervention package, cash transfer for children and their caregivers, free comprehensive health insurance integrating all consultancy and laboratory services charges, direct food supplements supply and nutritional support, research, target specified with evidenced-based monitoring. Counseling support and preferential treatment for children visiting ART for treatment were to be included. Conclusion: Combination social protection intervention packages remain the pathway to yielding maximum dividends on any social intervention that seeks to address the vulnerability levels of HIV positive children in Ghana. This should be designed taking into consideration the preference of the main target beneficiaries (HIV positive children) while accounting for the inclusion of the technical expertise of implementing stakeholders in the policy design from conceptualization to evaluation.展开更多
For needed changes to occur, we need to do gender in higher education and tenure differently. The way that tenure is established and reviews for tenure are conducted need to be based more on a system that allows for t...For needed changes to occur, we need to do gender in higher education and tenure differently. The way that tenure is established and reviews for tenure are conducted need to be based more on a system that allows for the development of the whole individual. The future health of academia rests on the development and refinement of a system that creates a healthy environment for all members of that system. All faculty members cannot and should not be held to standards that were created in another time, which constructed the academic role as a gendered role. Individuals need to consider how we do gender, and how that creates an impact on our organization, academia. A process for equitable review of all participants in the system requires that all individuals be involved in the process of defining the standards for a tenurable professor. Then all voices should and must be represented when we construct how we do tenure so that even minority voices still have their chance to speak. There is a better way to perform the roles we take in academia, there is a better way to perform our gender in this setting, and from recognizing this we can then move to a better way to do all this that is academia.展开更多
文摘Background: Designing a need-based social protection intervention for children comes as comprehensive tool for addressing the overall quality of life of HIV positive children. Not much has been examined on what constitute the desired social protection framework for HIV positive children. Methods: This study was informed by a qualitative descriptive exploratory design approach. The study drew insights from the shared perspectives of 27 participants sampled from positive HIV status disclosed children—10 - 17 years, healthcare workers, Social and Development worker, HIV positive caregivers and parents from 7 ART clinics in rural and urban Brong Ahafo and Ashanti regions of Ghana. Data was collected through interviews and two focus group discussions with study participants. Drawing on the emerged themes from the transcripts, thematic content analysis was used to analyze the data using comparative thematic framework approach. Findings: The eclectic perspectives on the type of social protection policy/intervention preferred demonstrated the need for an interrelated and integrated social protection policy. This should not be designed in isolation towards addressing the child vulnerability. The study found that social protection policies aimed at addressing vulnerability levels of children should consider the dual vulnerability situation within which HIV positive children and adolescents are located. A set of unique specific tailored approach and package reflecting minimum combination social protection package to HIV positive children was considered essential for inclusion. The themes that emerged covered social policy/intervention package inclusive of a disease ending/eradication intervention package, cash transfer for children and their caregivers, free comprehensive health insurance integrating all consultancy and laboratory services charges, direct food supplements supply and nutritional support, research, target specified with evidenced-based monitoring. Counseling support and preferential treatment for children visiting ART for treatment were to be included. Conclusion: Combination social protection intervention packages remain the pathway to yielding maximum dividends on any social intervention that seeks to address the vulnerability levels of HIV positive children in Ghana. This should be designed taking into consideration the preference of the main target beneficiaries (HIV positive children) while accounting for the inclusion of the technical expertise of implementing stakeholders in the policy design from conceptualization to evaluation.
文摘For needed changes to occur, we need to do gender in higher education and tenure differently. The way that tenure is established and reviews for tenure are conducted need to be based more on a system that allows for the development of the whole individual. The future health of academia rests on the development and refinement of a system that creates a healthy environment for all members of that system. All faculty members cannot and should not be held to standards that were created in another time, which constructed the academic role as a gendered role. Individuals need to consider how we do gender, and how that creates an impact on our organization, academia. A process for equitable review of all participants in the system requires that all individuals be involved in the process of defining the standards for a tenurable professor. Then all voices should and must be represented when we construct how we do tenure so that even minority voices still have their chance to speak. There is a better way to perform the roles we take in academia, there is a better way to perform our gender in this setting, and from recognizing this we can then move to a better way to do all this that is academia.
