AEGiS-14IAC: How can you give hope to HIV-positive children in resources-poor settings?

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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How can you give hope to HIV-positive children in resources-poor settings?

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. WeOrF1329)

Ponnet MG, Ounjit N
Medecins sans Frontieres - Belgium, Bangkok, Thailand

Issues (Problems) Thai nurses and a social worker visit HIV-positive children at home in metropolitan Bangkok. Besides medical problems the children have psychosocial problems of multifactoral origin. The children are orphans and miss strong family links; they are often sick and drop out of school; they don't have any friends and the other kids make fun of them and they need good medical follow-up and (antiretroviral) drugs lifelong but they face difficulties to access care.

DESCRIPTION: A multidisciplinary team of nine counselors, consisting of medical doctors, nurses and social workers, organized a two day Children's Weekend where fun and social support were the key words. Eight HIV-positive children attended the weekend. The highlight of the weekend was a game about medicines counseling. The social worker handed out a big envelope containing a letter. A child living in the North of Thailand asked the children for help taking the medicines. To maintain the children's attention and to facilitate the conversation each child expressed its feelings using a hand puppet, made out of paper bags. The children wrote their answers down in a letter.

ISSUES: A link between the children was established: the participants realized they were not the only ones with HIV. Their family members made the same reflection later on. The medical professionals organizing the weekend realized that the children talk very openly about their disease and the medicines they have to take. Because the children speak the same language, have the same age, the same problem and same feeling, the next step planned is to set up a peer support group.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Thai HIV-infected children find social support in peer-driven setting facilitated by professionals in pediatric HIV. This example is reproducible in other resources-poor settings and shows how you can give hope to HIV-positive children.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Infections, HIV Seropositivity, Health Resources, Foster Home Care, Emotions, Affect, Social Support, Health Services Needs and Demand, Family, Peer Group, Interpersonal Relations, Child of Impaired Parents, Thailand, Child, HumanKWDaegis,hivinfections,hivseropositivity,healthresources,fosterhomecare,emotions,affect,socialsupport,healthservicesneedsanddemand,family,peergroup,interpersonalrelations,childofimpairedparents,thailand,child,human

020707
WeOrF1329

Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.