HEARD :: CCABA Symposium: Children And HIV: Family Support First - Working Together To Achieve Universal Support And Access To Treatment

HEALTH ECONOMICS AND HIV/AIDS RESEARCH DIVISION
Evidence for Impact in Health and HIV

CCABA Symposium: Children and HIV: Family Support First - Working Together to Achieve Universal Support and Access to Treatment, July 16 and 17 2010, Vienna, Austria.

Session: Supporting families in the context of HIV and disability.

Introduction (Dr Jill Hanass-Hancock)

The interrelation between disability and HIV had been a long overlooked area. With the UNAIDS policy brief on disability and HIV in 2009 this has been rectified. However, the effects of HIV on children with disabilities or children of carers with disabilities is still a silent issue. Overall there are three dimensions that we need to consider.

Children and youth with disabilities are for various reasons particularly at risk of exposure to HIV
Children living with HIV can develop impairments/activity limitations as a result of their illness
HIV and AIDS can also be linked to experiences of disablement of the closer support network and in particular the carers of a person living with HIV and disability - In resource poor settings these carers are often children and HIV and/or disability has a particular impact on their lives

The three presentations in this session focused on these three dimensions from three different angles. The first presentation shared results from a South African study on young carers based on the results of a larger study. Dr Lucie Cluver and Dr Caroline Kuo presented results reflecting on whether the extent of adult activity limitation impacts on children's domestic work, school attendance and mental health. Afterwards Conny Tinkwa shared her experiences while working with families of children with disabilities in Uganda and what effects HIV has on these families. The last speaker Toyin Aderemi presented results from her PHD study in Nigeria. She elaborated on the challenges related to young people with intellectual disabilities in the context of HIV education.

The presentations can be downloaded here:

Dr Lucie Cluver and Dr Caroline Kuo - Parenting, Disability and HIV/AIDS: understanding impacts on children in AIDS-affected families.

Many families are coping with the impact of AIDS-related disabilities. There is, however, very little research in sub-Saharan Africa that investigates the impact of adult disability on children in the home. This study uses data from 1000 matched carer-child pairs in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Using standardised measures of disability and child outcomes, we ask whether the extent of adult disability predicts the quality of children's domestic work, school attendance and mental health. This study is a collaboration between the South African Department of Social Development, HEARD at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, and Oxford University. Click here to download the presentation.
Connie Tinka - Children and HIV/AIDs: Family Support First.

This presentation highlights the situation of children affected by HIV/AIDS, legal framework, human rights issues at national level, key challenges and family support recommendations.

For more information contact: .
Toyin J. Aderemi - Vulnerability to HIV infection among intellectually impaired and mainstream learners in Nigeria: parents have a role to play.

In Nigeria, little is known about the vulnerability of intellectually impaired learners (IIL) to HIV infection. This cross-sectional, comparative study utilised mixed methods to investigate HIV knowledge and sexual practices among mild/moderate IIL and mainstream learners (ML) in Nigeria. Three hundred IIL and 300 ML within the age range of 12-19 years in special and regular schools completed a questionnaire based on the I-Change Model. Focus group discussions, in-depth and key informant interviews were used to explore contextual factors informing learners' HIV knowledge, risk perception, sexual behaviours and access to HIV education from learners and teachers. Findings point to the relevance of parents in HIV education for learners. The presentation can be downloaded here.

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