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Maternal HIV Illness and its Impact on Children’s Well-being and Development in Haiti

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Abstract

Little is known about the impact of parental HIV illness on children’s well-being and development in the island nations of the Caribbean. Study objectives were to examine mothers’ experiences of impact of HIV illness on their children’s well-being and development in Haiti. Baseline interviews were conducted between 2006 and 2007 with 25 HIV-positive mothers as part of a larger study that examined the feasibility of a psychosocial support group intervention for HIV-affected youth and their caregivers in central Haiti. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded for topical themes by two investigators. Main themes related to impact of maternal HIV illness on children’s well-being were the lack of mothers’ physical strength to take care of their children, and difficulties in providing housing and food for their children. Children’s school enrollment, attendance, and performance were also affected by their mother’s illness. Mothers reported that although their children were HIV-negative, children were distressed by HIV-related stigma that they and their mothers experienced. Findings suggest that children living in HIV-affected families in this region face disadvantages in nutritional, educational, and psychological outcomes. These considerations should be taken into account when designing interventions to support children living in HIV-affected families in this setting.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by a grant provided by the National Institute of Mental Health (R21 MH076447), a training grant from the Minority Health and Health Disparities International Research Training Program of National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (T37TW00113-08), and a training grant from the National Institute of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (T32 AI007001). The HIV treatment program has been funded by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (GFATM).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Behavior, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 302 Rosenau Hall, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA

    Donaldson F. Conserve

  2. Zanmi Lasante Sociomedical Complex, Cange, Haiti

    Eddy Eustache, Catherine M. Oswald & Ermaze Louis

  3. Partners In Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Fiona Scanlan

  4. Department of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Joia S. Mukherjee

  5. Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Pamela J. Surkan

Authors
  1. Donaldson F. Conserve
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  2. Eddy Eustache
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  3. Catherine M. Oswald
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  4. Ermaze Louis
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  5. Fiona Scanlan
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  6. Joia S. Mukherjee
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  7. Pamela J. Surkan
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Correspondence to Donaldson F. Conserve.

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Conserve, D.F., Eustache, E., Oswald, C.M. et al. Maternal HIV Illness and its Impact on Children’s Well-being and Development in Haiti. J Child Fam Stud 24, 2779–2785 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0081-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-0081-7

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