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Browsing Education by Author "Alves, Sianne Maria"
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Item Open Access Exploring the development and implementation of health and support services in five South African higher education institutions for a key population, men who have sex with men(University of the Free State, 2017) Alves, Sianne Maria; Francis, Dennis𝑬𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒉 The need for university support of self-identifying students has received recent attention with the introduction of global funding and directives from the National Department of Health through the National Strategic Plan (2012-2016). Previous HIV prevention programmes funding provided hardly any to no support for self-identifying populations in specific HIV prevention programmes, with the result that structural discrimination reinforced hegemonic norms that constrained the “health, opportunities and resources of [already] socially stigmatized individuals” (Storholm et al., 2013 p.8). Being the only study, as at 15 January 2015, to focus on institutional programmes for men who have sex with men students (MSM) in higher education, my PhD contributes to a gap in knowledge and HIV prevention responses within the university setting. The research reviews five university programmes that were developed to provide biopsychosocial responses for self-identifying students at university. The findings contribute towards praxis that seeks to serve and support populations that experience more than one form of oppression. Applying a critical theorist approach, I conducted ten two hour qualitative interviews with programme coordinators working at five South African universities, to identify the methods they used to locate and retain MSM students within systems of health and support. Furthermore, through the analysis of the data, I analyse the unique approaches that are used in their combined prevention programmes for MSM students in higher education institutions. These approaches include innovations for locating MSM; social media use; structural change; health innovations; and psychosocial changes that focus on creating an enabling environment for sexually diverse students in the higher education setting. As a critical theorist, I question the location of power and how the five programme coordinators navigated the university terrain in order to seek support and establish a contentious programme for self-identifying students in university. The results demonstrate that institutional support can be located within the various echelons of the university, which ultimately contests the power held by the executive management. Further findings question the role of academia in institutional programmes and calls for equality in the provision of health and related services for self-identifying students in higher education institutions. Despite South Africa having an advanced Constitution and higher education system, there is much more work to be done, in the training of health care practitioners who are mandated through National policy, to create an inclusive health care environment. Similarly, universities as sites of academic freedom, seemingly fail to uphold the equal protection and implementation of students’ right to sexual orientation and in so doing reinforce heteronormative practices that further discriminate and alienate self-identifying students in university - which results in the limited uptake of HIV prevention and support services in university. My PhD research contributes towards the gap in knowledge that articulates the changes required in higher education institutions that would enhance combined prevention programmes for MSM and sexually diverse populations at university. ___________________________________________________________________