Anghelina OC, Buzducea D, Lazarescu L, Nicolae A, Stirb C, Serban D, Petrea S; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 473 (abstract no. 24165).
Colentina Hospital, Bucharest, Romania.
OBJECTIVE: Identifying the psychosocial effects of HIV/AIDS infection on families with one/several infected children. METHODS: Semistructured interviews of 60 parents/legal care givers from Bucharest. Interviews were taken by social workers from the "Sunflower" Day Center within the Colentina Hospital. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. Informations from medical staff and from home visits were also used. Parents and tutors needs and challenges were identified within a biopsychosocial framework. RESULTS: The research identified problems that affected by HIV/AIDS have to deal with. Emotional reactions of parents were filed, together with the ways they deal with the possibility of their children's death, their future plans, changes in their social behaviour, and their approach to revealing their problems to other people. All these must be linked to the powerful economic pressure determined by extra-expenses (medicine, food, clothes, transportation, etrc.) and the isolation and secrecy that surround these families. Parents/the family adopt various methods of surviving as a family. CONCLUSIONS: It is very important that these families are granted material support--this can be essential for preserving a favorable climate in the family. Relived from the economical pressure parents are more capable of handelling the specific problems of the family. As to the decision of sharing the situation of their family to other people (relatives, friends) it has been noticed that this may have either negative or positive effects. Sanitary and social workers in charge of these families must be able to creatively support these family during the entire period they are facing these problems.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Adoption
- Caregivers
- Child
- Child Rearing
- Child of Impaired Parents
- Confidentiality
- Family
- Family Health
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Health Services Needs and Demand
- Humans
- Interviews as Topic
- Parents
- Social Work
- organization & administration
Other ID:
UI: 102229286
From Meeting Abstracts