Journal
CHILDREN AND YOUTH SERVICES REVIEW
Volume 45, Issue -, Pages 106-113Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.03.026
Keywords
Children; Social space; Support groups; Perinatal HIV infection; Coping
Categories
Ask authors/readers for more resources
As access to paediatric antiretroviral therapy (ART) continues to improve in sub-Saharan Africa, a new historically specific cohort of HIV-perinatally infected children surviving into adolescent has emerged. Although remarkable successes have been made clinically in keeping this cohort alive and in reasonable health, their social support experiences are still unknown. The research being reported here sought to explore peer social support experiences of HIV-perinatally infected children in Harare, Zimbabwe. In this article, we draw on 56 repeat in-depth interviews (IDIs) conducted in three phases and two focus group discussions (FGDs) with HIV-infected children (11-13 years). Additional interviews were held with 10 carers. Study findings suggested that both children and carers perceive support groups as a safe social space for learning and acquiring HIV information as well as gaining confidence. Additionally, findings highlighted the importance of consistency of participation. Structural and personal barriers to access and participation in support group were also identified. We conclude that support groups are a useful resource for HIV-infected children and therefore should be supported by stable funding. (C) 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available