Table 1.
Selected characteristics of study participants at enrolment (n = 206)
| Demographic | |
| Sex, female [n (%)] | 178 (86) |
| Age (years) [median (IQR)] | 34 (28, 43) |
| Enrolment CD4 count [n (%)] | |
| ≤ 559 cells/μL | 53 (26) |
| 560–632 cells/μL | 51 (24) |
| 633–768 cells/μL | 53 (26) |
| > 768 cells/μL | 49 (24) |
| Current marital status [n (%)] | |
| Never married | 163 (79) |
| Monogamous marriage | 27 (13) |
| Polygamous marriage | 3 (1) |
| Separated/divorced/widowed | 13 (6) |
| Religion [n (%)] | |
| None | 15 (7) |
| Shembe | 39 (19) |
| Zionist | 62 (30) |
| Western Christian | 78 (38) |
| Other | 12 (6) |
| Education, achieved matriculation or higher [n (%)]a | 54 (27) |
| Parity [median (IQR)]b | 2 (2, 4) |
| Number of lifetime partners [n (%)] | |
| 1 | 28 (14) |
| 2–4 | 128 (62) |
| ≥5 | 50 (24) |
| Number of children [median (IQR)]c | 3 (1, 4) |
| Employment [n (%)] | |
| Currently employed | 42 (20) |
| Ever employed | 108 (52) |
| Receiving social welfare grant [n (%)] | 150 (73) |
| Household unable to afford food in past 12 months [n (%)] | 44 (21) |
| Always resident in Africa Centre DSA [n (%)]d | 86 (42) |
| Stigma score [median (IQR)]e | 42 (36,48) |
| Gender norms score [median (IQR)]f | 39 (37, 43) |
| Taken nutritional supplements in first 6 months of study [n (%)] | 23 (11) |
| Social capital | |
| Neighbour would contribute time for a project [n (%)] | 149 (72) |
| Neighbour would contribute money (R10) for a project [n (%)] | 138 (67) |
| Who would deal with a problem that affected the entire neighbourhood? [n (%)] | |
| Municipal/district leaders | 46 (22) |
| Each person/household individually or neighbours | 14 (7) |
| Traditional leaders | 74 (36) |
| Traditional and municipal/district leaders would act together | 72 (35) |
| Community groups in neighbourhood, yes [n (%)] | 156 (76) |
| How much can you rely on family/friends if you have a serious problem? [n (%)] | |
| A little | 22 (11) |
| A lot | 179 (87) |
| Not at all | 5 (2) |
| How often do you spend time with neighbours? [n (%)] | |
| Every day | 65 (32) |
| Several days a week | 53 (26) |
| At least once a fortnight | 8 (4) |
| Once a month | 24 (12) |
| Less than once a month/not at all | 56 (27) |
Data missing for eight patients.
Female patients only; data missing for five patients.
Male patients only.
Data available for n = 170. In the Africa Centre surveillance system, household membership is not conditional on residency; an individual can be recorded as a nonresident household member if they are residing in a household outside the demographic surveillance area (DSA) but remain socially connected to a household in the DSA. Changes in residence by individuals and households within the DSA (internal migration) and into or out of the DSA (external migration) have been documented since January 2000.
HIV stigma was measured by a set of 24 questions adapted from Sayles et al.’s 28-item scale [11]. The questions assessed the individual’s perceived HIV stigma in the community and internalized HIV stigma. Higher stigma score represents greater HIV-related stigma. The maximum possible stigma score was 72 and the minimum was 24.
Gender norms were measured by a set of 19 questions from 24 questions developed by Pulerwitz et al. [12]. Although the Pulerwitz et al. gender norms scale was originally administered to men only, on review it was considered an appropriate measure of gender norms for both sexes and administered to men and women. Scores could range between 19 and 57, with higher scores indicating more equitable gender norms and lower scores indicating male-dominant gender norms.
DSA, demographic surveillance area; IQR, interquartile range.