Marseille 2007
| Abstract #184 - Coping with HIV/aids during adolescence: Nourishing hope for healthy living and looking forward to the future | ||||
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Session: 40.6: Children (Parallel) on Tuesday @ 14.00-16.00 in PR Chaired by Lorraine Sherr, Peter Laugharn Authors: Presenting Author: Prof Mylne Fernet - Universit du Qubec Montral, Canada |
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| Additional Authors: Ms Marie-Eve Richard, Lyne Massie, Prof Joseph Josy Lvy, Prof Joanne Otis, Ms Johanne Samson, Dr Normand Lapointe, Prof Jocelyne Thriault, Prof Germain Trottier, Ms Karne Proulx-Boucher, Ms Marie-Hlne Garceau-Brodeur, | ||||
| Aim: The chronicity of HIV has important impacts on the actual experiences of people living with HIV, but only a few studies explored coping strategies used by teenagers infected by HIV since their birth or early age. Besides being confronted to the disease, these adolescents have to cope, in many cases, with the death of their parent, social stigmatization, powerlessness, management of the secret surrounding their serological status and isolation, as well as side effects of their medicine. In this context, this study explores the coping strategies used by those adolescents. | ||||
| Method / Issue: As part of a qualitative research, 29 young Africans, Haitians and Quebecers participated in individual semi-strutured interviews. These youths, aged between 10 and 18 years-old have their follow-up at the Mother and Child University Hospital Center of Sainte Justines Hospital in Montreal. Interviews included impacts of HIV and antiretroviral treatments in their daily lives. The data were analyzed according to the procedures of the anchored theorization. | ||||
| Results / Comments: The announcement of the diagnosis is a major event in the lives of those youths. It reveals the reasons of the biomedical follow-up and of the medicine they have to take. It also allows the clarification of some questions or doubts concerning their health status. This announcement arouses lively reactions from the young people. Some of them are shocked and surprised, while others feel sadness, sorrow, deception. Some will feel fear and others will feel angry and frustrated. Amongst them, some will take the announcement with an apparent indifference ou detachment. Many adjustments will then take place by those teenagers, so as to deal with their new reality. These strategies can be combined in two sets. A first set of coping strategies identified by the youths allows them to regulate the emotional distress associated with their reality. They include denial, guiltiness, selective attention, minimization, rationalization, the blame towards others and isolation. A second set of coping strategies is oriented towards actions, allowing the nourishment of hope. They consist of respecting their medication, to project their life in the future, make personal projects such as wishing to get involved in the case of HIV, seek for social support and praying to God for a long life or for healing. | ||||
| Discussion: The announcement of the diagnosis is a major event in the lives of those youths. It reveals the reasons of the biomedical follow-up and of the medicine they have to take. It also allows the clarification of some questions or doubts concerning their health status. This announcement arouses lively reactions from the young people. Some of them are shocked and surprised, while others feel sadness, sorrow, deception. Some will feel fear and others will feel angry and frustrated. Amongst them, some will take the announcement with an apparent indifference ou detachment. Many adjustments will then take place by those teenagers, so as to deal with their new reality. These strategies can be combined in two sets. A first set of coping strategies identified by the youths allows them to regulate the emotional distress associated with their reality. They include denial, guiltiness, selective attention, minimization, rationalization, the blame towards others and isolation. A second set of coping strategies is oriented towards actions, allowing the nourishment of hope. They consist of respecting their medication, to project their life in the future, make personal projects such as wishing to get involved in the case of HIV, seek for social support and praying to God for a long life or for healing. | ||||
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