My project seeks to test the feasibility of using social media-based edutainment videos to enhance the access and utilization of HIV/AIDS preventive services among young single mothers working in alcohol-serving venues in Rwanda. The first round of phase one of my project corrected data about the challenges young single mothers must navigate through as they reduce their vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and factors affecting their access to and utilization of HIV/AIDS prevention services.
Research involving alcohol-serving venues can be challenging particularly when determining the sample, recruitment of participants, and collecting data. Notably, calculating a probability-based sample for the study settings has proved challenging due to the lack of available data on the number of informal alcohol-serving venues in Rwanda. Therefore, I have opted for a maximum variation purposive sampling to select places such as informal hotels (those without star ratings and with fewer than 50 rooms), motels, guesthouses, bars, and pubs. I also considered geographical location (rural versus urban) and the visibility of the venue to potential clients. I was ultimately able to identify and select 32 alcohol-serving places, which enabled me to recruit around 120 young single mothers. These young women worked primarily as waitresses, but also bartenders, security personnel, cleaners, accountants, pub owners, and entertainers while also meeting the eligibility criteria using both purposive and snowball sampling approaches.
Despite the complexities encountered in getting access to some places and scheduling interviews for identified-eligible participants, I was able to conduct 104 interviews. Though data analysis is ongoing, I can say that I obtained rich data that accurately reflects the vulnerability of young single mothers to HIV as a result of working at alcohol-serving venue. The level of vulnerability varies depending on the specific type of alcohol-serving place workplace organizational culture, customers’ behaviors, and limited availability of HIV/AIDS preventive services for staff.