Spaces for community dialogue among adults and children in collective identification, sharing and mitigation of HIV/AIDS concerns in Uganda

Through experience and research, the Uganda government perceived the HIV/AIDS pandemic as a multi-dimensional problem and practically demonstrated that multi-sectoral and multidisciplinary interventions are the best approaches to address this. This calls for collaborative efforts among all stakeholders with respect to their mandates, areas of comparative advantage and expertise. In this study, we explored the role of ‘spaces for community dialogues’ among adults and children in the collective identification, sharing and mitigation of HIV/AIDS concerns in Uganda. This was an ethnographic study conducted between 2009 and 2015 in two purposively selected districts most hit by HIV/AIDS. We employed multiple data collection methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, participatory rural appraisal and key informant interviews. Ethics clearance was obtained from Makerere University, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and from the two social support agencies. Data were synthesised and analysed using thematic analysis. Findings show that bazaars, mother or father talks, testing sites and regular spaces, banana beer parties, village meetings, school settings, and community events provided safe environments for interaction about HIV/AIDS concerns among children and adults. Children expressed their views through visual techniques with the support of adults. The use of catalysts facilitated effective interactions by harmonizing experiences of those directly impacted by HIV/AIDS and those providing the needed helping skills. Dialogue is an act of creations that cannot be consumed by participants. Spaces for dialogue are real sites that societies use in their daily interactions. Children are active participants in the struggle to mitigate the adverse effects of HIV/AIDS. Despite differences in ways of sharing messages, spaces in a community settings were deemed appropriate for dialogue on HIV/AIDS issues.