TY - JOUR
T1 - "Life at the River is a Living Hell
T2 - " a qualitative study of trauma, mental health, substance use and HIV risk behavior among female fish traders from the Kafue Flatlands in Zambia
AU - Michalopoulos, Lynn T.Murphy
AU - Baca-Atlas, Stefani N.
AU - Simona, Simona J.
AU - Jiwatram-Negrón, Tina
AU - Ncube, Alexander
AU - Chery, Melanie B.
N1 - Funding Information:
Funding for the study came from the Provost’s Office of Columbia University: the Provost’s Grants Program for Junior Faculty who Contribute to the Diversity Goals of the University. TJ was supported as a predoctoral fellow in the Behavioral Sciences Training in Drug Abuse Research program sponsored by Public Health Solutions and National Development and Research Institutes, with funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32 DA007233).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/3/7
Y1 - 2017/3/7
N2 - Background: In Western settings, the relationship between trauma history, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use, and HIV risk behavior, is well established. Although female fish traders in Zambia are affected by HIV at rates estimated to be 4-14 times higher than the national prevalence, no studies have examined the co-occurring issues of trauma, substance use and HIV risk behavior among this vulnerable population. The current study examined: 1) trauma history, trauma symptoms and HIV risk behaviors and 2) the relationship between these co-occurring issues among female fish traders from the Kafue Flatlands in Zambia. Methods: Twenty individual semi-structured qualitative interviews and a focus group discussion (n = 12 participants) were conducted with female fish traders in the Kafue Flatlands of Zambia. Template analysis was used to examine the data. Results: The findings indicate that female fish traders in Zambia are at risk of multiple and ongoing traumatic events and daily stressors, severe mental health symptoms (including western conceptualizations of disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complicated grief, as well as local idioms of distress), substance abuse, and HIV sexual risk behaviors. The results suggest a relationship between trauma and HIV sexual risk behavior in this population. Conclusions: The indication of these co-occurring issues demonstrates the need for HIV prevention intervention efforts, which account for trauma, mobility, and psychosocial outcomes in order to reduce HIV sexual risk behavior among female fish traders in Zambia.
AB - Background: In Western settings, the relationship between trauma history, posttraumatic stress disorder, substance use, and HIV risk behavior, is well established. Although female fish traders in Zambia are affected by HIV at rates estimated to be 4-14 times higher than the national prevalence, no studies have examined the co-occurring issues of trauma, substance use and HIV risk behavior among this vulnerable population. The current study examined: 1) trauma history, trauma symptoms and HIV risk behaviors and 2) the relationship between these co-occurring issues among female fish traders from the Kafue Flatlands in Zambia. Methods: Twenty individual semi-structured qualitative interviews and a focus group discussion (n = 12 participants) were conducted with female fish traders in the Kafue Flatlands of Zambia. Template analysis was used to examine the data. Results: The findings indicate that female fish traders in Zambia are at risk of multiple and ongoing traumatic events and daily stressors, severe mental health symptoms (including western conceptualizations of disorders such as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complicated grief, as well as local idioms of distress), substance abuse, and HIV sexual risk behaviors. The results suggest a relationship between trauma and HIV sexual risk behavior in this population. Conclusions: The indication of these co-occurring issues demonstrates the need for HIV prevention intervention efforts, which account for trauma, mobility, and psychosocial outcomes in order to reduce HIV sexual risk behavior among female fish traders in Zambia.
KW - Female fish traders
KW - HIV sexual risk
KW - Mental health
KW - Qualitative methods
KW - Transactional sex
KW - Trauma
KW - Zambia
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U2 - 10.1186/s12905-017-0369-z
DO - 10.1186/s12905-017-0369-z
M3 - Article
C2 - 28270127
AN - SCOPUS:85014691377
SN - 1472-6874
VL - 17
JO - BMC Women's Health
JF - BMC Women's Health
IS - 1
M1 - 15
ER -