Partnerships and sexual behaviour in rural South Africa in the era of HIV and ART. (360G-Wellcome-083495_Z_07_Z)

Diagnosed HIV positive people form an increasingly large sub-population in South Africa, one that will continue to grow with the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART). ART introduces new influences on relationships, sexuality and sexual behaviour. It is not yet clear to what extent ART will impact sexual behaviour and HIV transmission, thus the pressing need to monitor trends in sexual risk behaviours. Given the recency of public access ART, few studies have examined the impact of treatment on sexual behaviour patterns in African populations. The fellowship aims to investigate the relationships between partnership, cohabitation, sexual behaviours and HIV risk in South Africa; and to measure the impact of ART on these factors. Historical, political, social, cultural and economic processes in South Africa have resulted in high migration, union instability, extra-marital births, concurrent relationships and HIV prevalence. The aims will be achieved using 10 years of longitudinal popu lation-based data on sexual behaviour, partnership and HIV, complimented by new data collection in migrant partners and in two ART clinical cohorts. The findings will inform future behavioural intervention development for couples in the era of ART.