HIV Workplace Programs Targeting Male Employees in Tanzania: Formative Research
Title: HIV Workplace Programs Targeting Male Employees in Tanzania: Formative Research
Principal Investigators: Lauren Rosapep and Tess Shiras
Timeline: June 2019 - November 2019
Background:
In 2006, Tanzania enacted a National Workplace Policy on HIV and AIDS, which mandates that all workplaces implement HIV/AIDS programs. Despite the enactment of this policy nearly 15 years ago, working men are twice as likely to be HIV positive (4.2 percent) compared to unemployed men (1.9 percent, TACAIDS, et al., 2013). Men in Tanzania are also less likely to know their HIV status and be virally suppressed compared to women.
The Tanzania Commission for AIDS (TACAIDS) recently developed a 2018-2020 Closing the Gap: Accelerating HIV Testing, Treatment and Male Catch-up Plan. This plan outlines priority HIV interventions in Tanzania and has an explicit focus on gender sensitivity and on reaching men. SHOPS Plus in Tanzania was tasked with helping respond to the Male Catch-up Plan by examining barriers and facilitators to reaching and engaging men in the workplace and identifying potential pilot options that could be considered for implementation by corporations, private companies, and business associations. To do this, SHOPS Plus conducted qualitative research to ensure that any eventual workplace programs are designed in collaboration with end-users and with relevant Tanzanian stakeholders.
Methods:
SHOPS Plus conducted 22 focus group discussions (FGDs) with employees from each of our three corporate partners. The FGDs asked participants about their experiences with health care seeking in general, their perceptions of HIV and HIV testing, and their preferences for an HIV workplace program, such as if they would prefer to receive an HIV test within their workplace or somewhere else in their community. To compliment the group perspectives captured in FGDs, each participant completed a brief quantitative survey to gather individual-level data on HIV-related attitudes.
We also conducted key informant interviews (KIIs) with individuals from 11 organizations including government agencies, funders, and implementing partners. Through the KIIs, we learned about existing strategies and platforms for reaching men with HIV services, barriers and motivators to HIV testing among this demographic, and best practices for implementing HIV workplace programs.
Relevant Resources:
Status: Completed
Last updated: August 2020