25 research outputs found

    Language aspects of children infected with HIV

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    PURPOSE: to assess the lexical proficiency and the incidence of phonologic disorders in the language of children infected with HIV. METHOD: the study population consisted of 31 children between three and seven year-old. For evaluation purposes the Test of Infantile Language - ABFW was applied in the areas of phonology and vocabulary. RESULTS: the results obtained were analyzed according to the clinical criteria for the classification of the disease proposed by the CDC and regarding the immunological profile and the viral burden using the Mann-Whitney test for statistical analysis. In the vocabulary evaluation, 100% of the children presented an inappropriate response for their age in at least two distinct conceptual fields. In the phonologic evaluation, 67.7% of the assessed children were considered to be affected by some phonologic disorder. When we compared adequate and inadequate results of phonologic evaluation to the clinical and immunological parameters of AIDS such as clinical classification (p=0,16), CD4 count (p=0,37) and viral burden (p=0,82), we did not detect a statistically significant relation between language alterations and disease severity. CONCLUSION: this research has shown that the studied group presents a high risk for language disorders and that constant phonoaudiological follow-up is essential to identify the alterations in early stage

    ‘Everyone has a secret they keep close to their hearts’: challenges faced by adolescents living with HIV infection at the Kenyan coast

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    Abstract: Background: The upsurge in the uptake of antiretroviral therapy (ART) has led to a significant increase in the survival of vertically acquired HIV infected children, many of whom are currently living into adolescence and early adulthood. However little if anything is known of the lived experiences and the challenges faced by HIV positive adolescents in the African context. We set out to investigate psychosocial challenges faced by HIV infected adolescents on the Kenyan coast. Methods: A total of 44 participants (12 HIV-infected adolescents, 7 HIV uninfected adolescents, and 25 key informants) took part in this qualitative study, using individually administered in-depth interviews. A framework approach was used to analyze the data using NVIVO software. Results: We observed that the challenges faced by adolescents in rural Kenya could be placed into six major themes: poverty, poor mental and physical health, the lack of a school system that is responsive to their needs, challenges in how to disclose to peers and family members, high levels of stigma in its various forms, and challenges of medical adherence leading to the need for close monitoring. Conclusion: In this African community, vertically acquired HIV-infected adolescents face a complex set of social, economic and medical challenges. Our study points to the urgent need to develop multisectorial intervention support programmes to fully address these challenges
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