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The syndemic relationship between harmful alcohol use, intimate partner violence (IPV), and HIV is well established across international settings. Less is known about how these health issues are perceived by women living with HIV (WLWH), who are disproportionately affected by these intertwined epidemics. A qualitative study was undertaken with 20 WLWH in Rakai, Uganda, to assess their perceptions of how these issues have affected their lives and their communities and to assess the acceptability of integrating a screening and brief intervention for alcohol use and IPV into HIV posttest counseling. Recommendations for intervention programming arising from the results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Uganda confirmed its first COVID-19 case in March 2020, leading to country-wide closures and a stay-at-home order. Infectious disease pandemics can overwhelm adaptive coping capacity (e.g., general self-efficacy and resilience) and increase the risk for mental distress. For individuals experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) and cohabitating with a perpetrator, stay-at-home orders can also increase risk of violence, which can further exacerbate mental distress. The present study explores women's perceived self-efficacy and resilient coping, mental health outcomes (depression and COVID-19 related anxiety), hazardous alcohol use and IPV in the context of Uganda's national 2020 lockdown. Methods: A phone-based survey was undertaken from June-August of 2020 in Wakiso District, Uganda. The study sample consisted of Africa Medical and Behavioral Sciences Organization (AMBSO) Population Health Surveillance (APHS) study participants who agreed to be contacted for future research. The analytic sample was restricted to women aged 13–80 years. Bivariate analysis and multivariable models explored associations between experiences of IPV and measures of adaptive coping, mental health and alcohol use. Results: A total of 556 women aged 13–79 years (mean age of 33.4 years) participated. Over half (55%) were currently married. The majority (60%) reported a decrease in alcohol use during the lockdown. Nearly half of the sample were experiencing physical or verbal IPV and reported an increase in violence during the lockdown. In adjusted analysis, alcohol use was associated with four times greater odds of recent physical IPV (aOR 4.06, 95% CI = 1.65–10.02, p = 0.0024), while participants had lower odds of experiencing any form of IPV as general self-efficacy increased (aOR 0.95, 95% CI = 0.91–0.99, p = 0.0308). Conclusion: Lockdown measures in Uganda may have mitigated increased alcohol consumption. IPV was exacerbated during lockdown; more than 2 in 5 IPV victims experienced increased physical or verbal violence. Development of programming and policies aimed at mitigating women's risk of IPV during future lockdowns are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mental health disorders account for a heavy disease burden in Uganda. In order to provide culturally appropriate mental health prevention and treatment approaches, it is necessary to understand how mental health is conceptualized in the population. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) and 31 in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted with men and women aged 14 to 62 years residing in rural, urban, and semi-urban low-income communities in central and western Uganda to explore perceptions and knowledge of mental health. Interpretive thematic analysis was undertaken; results were organized through the lens of the mental health literacy framework. Environmental and societal stressors were identified as primary underlying causes of poor mental health. While participants recognized symptoms of poor mental health, gaps in mental health literacy also emerged. Mental health resources are needed in this setting and additional qualitative work assessing knowledge and attitudes toward mental health care seeking behavior can inform the development of acceptable integrated services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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East Africa's fishing communities experience a high burden of two interrelated and frequently co-occurring health issues: HIV and hazardous alcohol use. Nearly two-thirds of Ugandan fisherfolk men meet the criteria for harmful alcohol use. We developed a multilevel intervention to reduce hazardous alcohol use and improve HIV care engagement among fisherfolk men living with HIV (LWHIV) in Wakiso district, Uganda. This is a qualitative study of stakeholder perspectives on the appropriateness, acceptability, and feasibility of a multilevel intervention for fisherfolk men LWHIV. The proposed intervention, Kisoboka (" It is possible! "), combines a structural component [changing the mode of work payments from cash to mobile money] with a behavioral component [motivational interviewing-based counseling combined with content using behavioral economic principles to promote behavior change]. We conducted one focus group (n=7) and eight in-depth interviews with fisherfolk men LWHIV and 19 key informant (KI) interviews with health workers, employers, and community leaders. These explored the appropriateness, acceptability, and feasibility of specific key intervention components. Overall, stakeholders' perspectives supported high intervention acceptability and perceived appropriateness of the proposed intervention. It was perceived to be feasible with some caveats of recommendations for overcoming potential implementation challenges identified (e.g., having a friend assist with documenting savings and alcohol use if an individual was unable to write themselves) which are discussed. This work highlights the potential of the Kisoboka intervention and the importance of early engagement of key stakeholders in the intervention development process to ensure appropriateness, acceptability, feasibility, and socio-cultural fit. • Heavy alcohol use is prevalent among fisherfolk men living with HIV. • Culturally and contextually relevant interventions are urgently needed. • Key stakeholders provided feedback on the Kisoboka intervention to guide refinement. • Behavioral and structural intervention aspects were seen as acceptable and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Uganda has one of the highest rates of alcohol use in sub-Saharan Africa but prevalence and correlates of drinking are undocumented in the Rakai region, one of the earliest epicenters of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in East Africa. Methods: We analyzed cross-sectional data from 18,700 persons (8,690 men, 10,010 women) aged 15–49 years, living in agrarian, trading and fishing communities and participating in the Rakai Community Cohort Study (RCCS) between March 2015 and September 2016. Logistic regression models assessed associations between past year alcohol use and sociodemographic characteristics, other drug use and HIV status, controlling for age, religion, education, occupation, marital status, and household socioeconomic status. Results: Past year alcohol prevalence was 45%. Odds of drinking were significantly higher in men (versus women) and fishing communities (versus agrarian areas). Odds of drinking increased with age, previous (versus current) marriage and past year drug use. By occupation, highest odds of drinking were among fishermen and (in women) bar/restaurant workers. Alcohol-related consequences were more commonly reported by male (vs. females) drinkers, among whom up to 35% reported alcohol dependence symptoms (e.g., unsteady gait). HIV status was strongly associated with alcohol use in unadjusted but not adjusted models. Conclusions: Alcohol use differed by gender, community type and occupation. Being male, living in a fishing community and working as a fisherman or restaurant/bar worker (among women) were associated with higher odds of drinking. Alcohol reduction programs should be implemented in Uganda's fishing communities and among people working in high risk occupations (e.g., fishermen and restaurant/bar workers). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Depression is a prevalent and serious mood disorder and a major source of disability adjusted life years (DALY) in Uganda. Furthermore, evidence from Uganda and other countries throughout sub-Saharan Africa suggests that nearly a third of persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) suffer from depression and it adversely affects healthcare seeking behavior. The high burden of disease attributable to depression makes data on the prevalence of depression in Uganda, a country with a generalized HIV epidemic, a public health priority. This paper describes the psychometric properties of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression (CES-D) measure when administered to men and women residing in three fishing communities along the shore of Lake Victoria. Methods: We applied methods based on item response theory and classical test theory approaches to assess individual item characteristics, conducted exploratory factor analysis and assessed internal reliability, and construct and content validity of the measure. All analyses were performed in R Studio. Results: The study sample consisted of 300 residents of fishing communities in Wakiso District, Uganda. Fifty-six percent of the sample was female and 19.7% reported being HIV positive. Seven items of the measure that did not perform well, either because they could not differentiate between levels of the latent trait or because they did not map onto the primary factor, were removed from the scale. A single factor structure best fit our final set of 13-items and we found an overall coefficient alpha of 0.89, indicating high internal consistency in this population. Conclusions: Based on our findings, we recommend that future use of the CES-D in this population utilize our revised scale with the final set of 13-items. The addition of other measures that can improve the rigor of CES-D validation efforts, such as inclusion of a clinical depression measure and administration in both a clinical and a general population sample in this setting are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fishing communities in Uganda have high rates of excessive alcohol consumption and negative health outcomes related to alcohol consumption, such as HIV acquisition and transmission and intimate partner violence victimization and perpetration. Research lacks understanding of alcohol use in Ugandan fishing communities, underlying reasons for excessive drinking among fishermen or how their community perceives negative health outcomes linked to excessive alcohol consumption. This qualitative study was conducted among Ugandan fisherfolk to determine why excessive alcohol consumption has overtaken their communities. Through analyzing in-depth interviews and focus group discussions, reasons for drinking and community perceptions of drinking were explored using the Socio Ecological Model and the Time Perspective Theory. Interviews were coded into two content themes: social influences on drinking and using alcohol to cope with stress. Participants acknowledged links between excessive alcohol consumption and negative health outcomes within their families and communities. These findings highlight the need for alcohol-related reduction interventions that are sensitive to contextual factors and self-identified contributors to problematic alcohol use within individuals and their communities. Such interventions must consider the social, ecological and economic conditions within fishing sites, focusing not only on individual-level behavioral change but also challenging the underlying structures that foster excessive alcohol consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Alcohol use is common among persons living with HIV (PWH) in Uganda and associated with poor HIV care outcomes; findings regarding the relationship between alcohol use and viral suppression (VS) have been inconclusive.Methods: Data from two rounds (2017-2020) of the Rakai Community Cohort Study, an open population-based cohort study in the Rakai region, Uganda, were analyzed. Two alcohol exposures were explored: past year alcohol use and alcohol-related consequences. Multivariable models (GEE) were used to estimate associations between alcohol exposures and VS for the overall sample and stratified by sex, adjusting for repeated measurement. Causal mediation by ART use was explored.Results: Over half (55 %) of participants (n = 3823 PWH) reported alcohol use at baseline; 37.8 % of those reporting alcohol use reported alcohol-related consequences. ART use and VS at baseline significantly differed by alcohol use with person reporting alcohol use being less likely to be on ART or VS. Alcohol use was significantly associated with decreased odds of VS among women but not men (adj. OR 0.72 95 % CI 0.58-0.89, p = 0.0031). However, among males who use alcohol, experiencing alcohol-related consequences was significantly associated with decreased odds of VS (adj. OR 0.69 95 % CI 0.54-0.88, p = 0.0034). The relationships between both alcohol exposures and VS were not significant in models restricted to persons on ART.Conclusions: We provide sex-stratified estimates of associations between two alcohol measures and VS in the context of current HIV treatment guidelines. This study confirms that alcohol use is adversely associated with VS but ART use mediates this pathway, suggesting that initiation and retention on ART are critical steps to addressing alcohol-related disparities in VS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) and alcohol use are interrelated public health issues. Heavy and frequent alcohol use increase the risk of IPV, but the relationship between alcohol use and IPV (including recent and lifetime IPV victimization and perpetration) has not been well described among persons living with HIV (PWH) in sub-Saharan Africa., Methods: We used baseline data from the Drinker's Intervention to Prevent Tuberculosis study. All participants were PWH co-infected with tuberculosis and had an Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test - Consumption (AUDIT-C) positive score (hazardous drinking) and positive urine ethyl glucuronide test, indicating recent drinking. High-risk drinking was defined as AUDIT-C > 6 and/or alcohol biomarker phosphatidylethanol (PEth) ≥ 200 ng/mL. We measured IPV using the Conflict Tactics Scale. We estimated the association between alcohol use level and recent (prior six months) IPV victimization (recent perpetration was too low to study) using multivariable logistic regression models adjusted for gender, age, assets, education, spouse HIV status, religiosity, depressive symptoms, and social desirability. We additionally estimated the interaction of alcohol use and gender on IPV victimization and the association between alcohol use and lifetime victimization and perpetration., Results: One-third of the 408 participants were women. Recent IPV victimization was reported by 18.9% of women and 9.4% of men; perpetration was reported by 3.1% and 3.6% of women and men. One-fifth (21.6%) of those reporting recent IPV victimization also reported perpetration. In multivariable models, alcohol use level was not significantly associated with recent IPV victimization (p = 0.115), nor was the interaction between alcohol use and gender (p = 0.696). Women had 2.34 times greater odds of recent IPV victimization than men (p = 0.016). Increasing age was significantly associated with decreased odds of recent IPV victimization (p = 0.004)., Conclusion: Prevalence of IPV victimization was comparable to estimates from a recent national survey, while perpetration among men was lower than expected. Alcohol use level was not associated with IPV victimization. It is possible that alcohol use in this sample was too high to detect differences in IPV. Our results suggest that women and younger PWH are priority populations for IPV prevention., (© 2022. The Author(s).)