Dissertation Defenses

Doctoral Dissertation Announcement

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Candidate: Tererai Mafukidze Trent

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Evaluation

Title: Metaevaluation of HIV/AIDS Prevention Intervention Evaluations in Sub-Saharan Africa with a Specific Emphasis on Implications for Women and Girls

Committee:
Dr. Chris Coryn, Chair
Dr. Michael Scriven
Dr. Robin Miller

Date: Thursday, October 15, 2009 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
4410 Ellsworth Hall

Abstract:
Despite numerous attempts by international agencies to halt the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), nowhere has the impact of HIV/AIDS been felt more acutely than among women and girls in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). SSA women account for 59% of adults over the age of 15 living with HIV/AIDS and 76% of those 15-24 who are infected (United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS [UNAIDS], 2007).
The evidence on gender disparities in infection rates is indisputable; there is an urgent need to identify what is missing in HIV/AIDS prevention interventions: What is the evidence based upon which programs are grounded? Program evaluations should influence and inform policy and funding and provide a critical feedback mechanism for the design of HIV interventions that work for girls and women.
This dissertation examines HIV/AIDS evaluation practices by bilateral and multilateral agencies in Sub Sahara. The main objectives are: 1) to identify a small set of demonstrable properties (e.g., validity, credibility, utility, cost-effectiveness, ethicality, robustness) adequate to characterize high-quality gender-sensitive evaluations of HIV/AIDS prevention interventions in SSA. These properties will be used to determine the absolute and relative merit and worth of a sample of evaluations of HIV/AIDS interventions; and 2) to suggest ways that evaluations of SSA HIV/AIDS prevention interventions can help influence prevention interventions that shift the underlying social ecology that gives rise to women’s vulnerability.
As the first in-depth metaevaluation study of evaluations of HIV/AIDS prevention interventions, this dissertation contributes to the practice of evaluation within SSA and will help identify prevention strategies with potential for meaningful sustained change for women and girls.