Santos CE, Ramos CF, Rossi SS, Silva MA, Galbinski K, Santos VL; International Conference on AIDS (15th : 2004 : Bangkok, Thailand).

Int Conf AIDS. 2004 Jul 11-16; 15: abstract no. B11880.

National Program STD/AIDS - Ministry of Health, Brasilia, Brazil

Background: Adolescence is fraught with challenges for teenagers and those involved with them. Birth rate for girls aged 15-19 yrs. increased 19 % in 1993-98. About 40 % of pregnant teens abandon school. AIDS incidence is increasing among female adolescents 13-19 yrs. old, probably because girls are having sex at an earlier age, and with men older than themselves. Adolescents thus present unique requirements for prevention and management of sexually related conditions, demanding special care. Methods: physicians attending an HIV/AIDS advanced course were asked to anonymously answer a questionnaire. Results: of respondents, 74.6% related caring for adolescents; 70.4% considered adherence to treatment an important issue in this population. Prevention of other sexually-related conditions was deemed highly relevant by 93.6%. Counselling on matters such as relationships, job concerns and career choices was felt to be part of providers' duties by 67.7%. Most respondents (67.6%) considered existing integration between infectious diseases/HIV-AIDS services and adolescent health programs as not altogether ideal. Measures for improving care of HIV+ adolescents were thus rated: integration of HIV specialised health services and adolescent health programs, 35.3%; specific attention to prevention 16.6%; training of physicians in the clinical management of HIV+ adolescents, 47.5%. Most physicians believed care should be conducted in an adult clinic liaised to a specialised adolescence service (61.8%), while a minority held that such care should be provided by paediatricians (2.1%) or by a specialised adolescence clinic (25%). Although the large majority of physicians surveyed were not paediatricians, nor cared mostly for adolescents, 79.9% believed that specific health services to HIV+ adolescents should be established. Conclusions: HIV+ adolescents present special problems in their clinical care. There is evidence that physicians believe such problems not to be adequately addressed in Brazil. Specific measures should be tak

Publication Types:

• Meeting Abstracts

Keywords:

• Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
• Adolescent
• Adolescent Health Services
• Adult
• Ambulatory Care Facilities
• Behavior
• Brazil
• Counseling
• Data Collection
• Female
• HIV Infections
• HIV Seropositivity
• Health Personnel
• Humans
• Incidence
• Male
• Population

Other ID:

• GWAIDS0032584

UI: 102276798

From Meeting Abstracts