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Health Education Research Advance Access originally published online on September 20, 2006
Health Education Research 2007 22(6):805-814; doi:10.1093/her/cyl105
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© 2006 The Author(s).
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Social construction and cultural meanings of STI/HIV-related terminology among Nguni-speaking inmates and warders in four South African correctional facilities

Sibusiso Sifunda1,*, Priscilla S. Reddy1, Ronald B. Braithwaite2, Torrence Stephens2, Sibusisiwe Bhengu3, Robert A. C. Ruiter4 and Bart Van Den Borne5

1 Health Promotion Research and Development Group, Medical Research Council, PO Box 19070, Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
2 Community Health and Preventive Medicine, Morehouse School of Medicine, 1513 East Cleveland Avenue, East Point, GA 30344, USA
3 Department of Correctional Services, Poyntons Building, Church Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
4 Department of Experimental Psychology, Universiteit Maastricht, PO Box 616, MD 6200, Maastricht, The Netherlands
5 Department of Health Promotion and Patient Education, Universiteit Maastricht, PO Box 616, MD 6200, Maastricht, The Netherlands

* Correspondence to: S. Sifunda. E-mail: sibusiso.sifunda{at}mrc.ac.za

Cultural sensitivity is increasingly recognized as a means to enhance the effectiveness of health promotion programmes all over the world. Sociocultural meanings and terminology of diseases are important in understanding how different groups perceive and interpret illness. This study was conducted as part of the process of developing and adapting a sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV peer led health education intervention for soon-to-be-released inmates who were predominantly Nguni speakers in South Africa. Two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with prison inmates in each of four facilities. Additionally, one FGD was conducted in each prison with non-health trained (custodial) personnel who were Nguni speakers from the same community (n = 27). The data revealed unique terminology and meanings attached to several biomedically defined STIs. These sociocultural constructions were not limited to inmates as findings from warders' discussions showed a similar pattern. Moreover, we found the existence of a number of traditional ‘folk’ STIs and culture-specific prevention methods. These conceptualizations influence reported health-care-seeking behaviour, where dual consultation of traditional healers and biomedical remedies is widely practiced. The research has biopsychological as well as cultural implications for the development and adaptation of contextually relevant health promotion interventions.

Received on August 11, 2006; accepted on August 11, 2006


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