Full Text Available

Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.

Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-102).

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Li, Rachel
Other Authors: Nattrass, Nicoli
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Aids and Society Research Unit 2014
Subjects:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1867613309938696192
access_status_str Open Access
author Li, Rachel
author2 Nattrass, Nicoli
author_browse Li, Rachel
Nattrass, Nicoli
author_facet Nattrass, Nicoli
Li, Rachel
author_sort Li, Rachel
collection Thesis
description Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-102).
format Thesis
id oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10692
institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:34:06.076Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
publishDateSort 2014
publisher Aids and Society Research Unit
publisherStr Aids and Society Research Unit
record_format dspace
source_str UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10692 Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa Li, Rachel Nattrass, Nicoli HIV/AIDS and Society Includes bibliographical references (leaves 84-102). HIV positive adolescents are becoming a progressively more sizeable and prominent sub-group in the South African HIV/AIDS epidemic. As HAART becomes increasingly available, vertically infected children can be expected to survive into adolescence and adulthood. Additionally, sexual transmission of HIV remains a problem, and incidence and prevalence rates among South African youth are high. Experience from the developed world indicates that providing effective care and treatment for youth can be a challenging task. In light of the antiretroviral rollout in South Africa, this exploratory study aimed to identify the experiences and needs of adolescents growing up in care or on treatment for HIV in the Western Cape. To this end, a review of the existing literature on the psychosocial aspects of HIV infection in adolescents was undertaken. Relevant articles were identified, summarized and entered into a database, and particular attention was given to research conducted in the context of sub-Saharan Africa. Additionally, focus groups interviews were conducted with 26 young people attending an adolescent infectious diseases clinic at a tertiary hospital in the Western Cape. Focus groups proceeded according to a pre-set discussion guide and investigated participants' current life experinces, views on the future and self-perceived needs. All interviews were recorded, translated into English, and transcribed, and data were coded and analyzed using NVivo qualitative data analysis software. The study revealed that the psychosocial issues associated with HIV infection in adolescents coalesce around five central themes: knowledge and understanding about personal serostatus, mental health, network of support, treatment management, and healthy behaviour. These issues present challenges to HIV positive adolescents in the present, and affect their outlook on the future. Findings reveal that despite the fact that young seropositive South Africans live in a country where social contexts, available resources and healthcare systems differ markedly from those in developed countries, they share similar concerns and face many of the same challenges as other HIV positive young people around the world. Future studies should investigate each of the five identified themes in greater depth by determining the contextual correlates of individual views, experiences and needs. 2014-12-31T19:30:19Z 2014-12-31T19:30:19Z 2008 Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10692 eng application/pdf Aids and Society Research Unit Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle HIV/AIDS and Society
Li, Rachel
Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa
thesis_degree_str Master's
title Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa
title_full Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa
title_fullStr Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa
title_full_unstemmed Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa
title_short Growing up on HAART : the experiences and needs of HIV positive adolescents in care and treatment in the Western Cape province of South Africa
title_sort growing up on haart the experiences and needs of hiv positive adolescents in care and treatment in the western cape province of south africa
topic HIV/AIDS and Society
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10692
work_keys_str_mv AT lirachel growinguponhaarttheexperiencesandneedsofhivpositiveadolescentsincareandtreatmentinthewesterncapeprovinceofsouthafrica