Polizzi VP; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1998; 12: 912 (abstract no. 43333).
ISSUE: Living with HIV/AIDS being a teenager, in a country with no specific support service for young people. PROJECT: It is a book where I tell my story in a colloquial language, to be accessible to young people. I got infected with my first boy friend, when I was 16, in 1987. After years of ostracism, in 1993 I lived for six months in California, where I got a lot of information, I went to support groups and AIDS organizations, so I learned another way to deal with the situation. Back to Brazil, I wrote my story to share my experiences. I talk not only about AIDS, but about all the problems of adolescence. RESULTS: Since December 97, 12,000 copies from the book were sold. The media got really interested and I gave a lot of interviews. I have been receiving hundreds of letters, from all over the country, from teenagers in the same situation, who doesn't have where to get information. I have been invited to give speech in schools and universities, where the book has been adopted to develop this subject among the young people. LESSONS LEARNED: In a country poor of information about AIDS, like in Brazil, this book is helping to inform and educate youth. Besides I became a public HIV-positive person, who can serve as an alert for prevention and an example for people living with AIDS.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
- Adolescent
- Brazil
- California
- Female
- HIV Infections
- HIV Seropositivity
- Humans
- Male
- Organizations
- education
Other ID:
UI: 102231498
From Meeting Abstracts