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Virology Research Journal | Volume 2
May 18-19, 2018 | Montreal, Canada
2nd World Conference on
STDs, STIs & HIV/AIDS
Introduction: HIV/AIDS in Africa has posed a direct threat to
the health development and educational success of children.
An estimated, 13.4 million children and adolescents worldwide
have lost one or both parents to AIDS as of 2015 and the vast
majorityofthesechildren(10.9million)liveinsub-SaharanAfrica
(UNICEF, 2016). In Zambia, where estimated HIV prevalence is
13.5% as of 2009, mortality and protracted illness from AIDS
have created a generation of children that are HIV/AIDS affected
often cared by chronically ill caregivers. A direct association
exists between the increased prevalence of HIV/AIDS affected
children and increases in child labor, child prostitution, sexual
exploitation and juvenile delinquency.
Methods: Thisresearchsoughttoidentifyandbetterunderstand
thepositiveprotective factors forHIV/AIDSaffectedchildrenthat
contribute to school attendance. Quantitative and qualitative
results were used to triangulate findings on protective factors
that would support children and their school attendance and
reliance. The 2009 National Zambia Sexual Behavior Survey was
analyzed using data collected from a nationally representative
sample of interviews of households with 475 HIV/AIDS affected
children compared to 1176 households without children made
vulnerable due to HIV/AIDS. Qualitative data were collected in
focus groups from 6 different schools with a high proportion of
HIV/AIDS affected children (N=34 total participants; 16 males,
18 females).
Results: Our data analysis indicates that the number of school-
age children in a home is related to school attendance. There
is a negative association between children that are HIV/AIDS
affected and stepparents appear to negatively influence school
attendance. Our findings suggest the need to focus further on
education settings as a sustainable community-based approach
to support vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS.
Speaker Biography
Margaret J Henning is an Associate Professor in Health Science at Keene State College.
She has earned her Master’s in Health Education and her PhD in Public Health from
Oregon State University with a focus on International Health. She has also completed
postdoctoral work for the T H Chan Harvard School of Public Health. Her research is
interdisciplinary and focuses on the problems of mobilizing, allocating and maintaining
limited resources to improve health. Additionally, she was a recipient of the 2015
American Public Health Award for her work in International.
e:
Margaret J Henning
Keene State College, USA
Protective factors for school attendance for HIV/AIDS affected children in Zambia