Adaptation and pre-test of a shortened Stepping Stones and Creating Futures intervention focused on HIV for young men in rural South Africa
Bibliographic Data
Men’s engagement in HIV prevention and treatment is suboptimal, including in South Africa. We sought to address this through adapting an evidence-based intervention, Stepping Stones and Creating Futures (SSCF), to strengthen its HIV content and provide a more scalable (shorter) intervention in rural South Africa. We then conducted a mixed methods pre-test of the intervention among young men aged 18–35 years. To adapt SSCF, we reviewed the current evidence base and worked with male Peer Navigators to update the SSCF theory of change (ToC) and manual. The revised intervention was ~45 hours (9 sessions) as opposed to ~63 hours and included a greater focus on HIV prevention and treatment technologies. Overall, 64% ( n = 60) of men approached agreed to participate in the intervention, uptake (attending one session) among those who agreed was n = 35(58%) and retention (attending 6 or more sessions) was n = 25(71%). Qualitative data emphasized the intervention was acceptable, with young men describing it as something they liked. The qualitative data also broadly supported the intervention ToC, including the normalization of HIV in men’s lives, and the importance of health for men in achieving their life goals. However, it also highlighted the need to focus more on HIV-related stigma and fear, and the importance of HIV self-testing kits in encouraging testing. We revised the ToC and manual in light of this data. The adapted SSCF is acceptable and supports the ToC. Next steps is an evaluation to look at effectiveness of the intervention
Family medicine · Focus group · Psychological intervention · Qualitative property · Qualitative research · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Computer Science · Health Policy Implementation Science · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology
Men's heightened risk of Aids-related death
The DREAMS core package of interventions
Impact of Stepping Stones on incidence of HIV and HSV-2 and sexual behaviour in rural South Africa
Stepping Stones and Creating Futures Intervention to Prevent Intimate Partner Violence Among Young People
Improving Engagement in the HIV Care Cascade
Associations between poverty, mental health and substance use, gender power, and intimate partner violence amongst young (18-30) women and men in urban informal settlements in South Africa
Cohort Profile
Psychological distress amongst Aids‐orphaned children in urban South Africa
Process evaluation of complex interventions
Developing and evaluating complex interventions
Effect of peer-distributed HIV self-test kits on demand for biomedical HIV prevention in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Factors associated with young people's attendance at an IPV prevention intervention in informal settlements in South Africa
Thetha Nami
Why increasing availability of ART is not enough
Masculinity, social context and HIV testing
Masculinity and engagement in HIV care among male fisherfolk on HIV treatment in Uganda
Reconstructing masculinity? A qualitative evaluation of the Stepping Stones and Creating Futures interventions in urban informal settlements in South Africa
What role can gender-transformative programming for men play in increasing men’s HIV testing and engagement in HIV care and treatment in South Africa
Peer Support for the Hardly Reached
Intimate partner violence among rural South African men
Peer education, gender and the development of critical consciousness
Men's violence against women and men are inter-related
Thematic networks
I Tried to Resist and Avoid Bad Friends
Hegemonic Masculinity/Masculinities in South Africa
A Disease Unlike Any Other? Why HIV Remains Exceptional in the Age of Treatment
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 2 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |