Adolescent on the bridge: Transitioning adolescents living with HIV to an adult clinic, in Ghana, to go or not to go?

Autor: Agambire R; Discipline of Nursing, School of Nursing and Public Health, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Howard Campus, Durban, South Africa.; Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Garden City University College, Kumasi, Ghana., Mchunu GG; Faculty of Health Sciences, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa., Naidoo JR; Department of Nursing Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Nelson Mandela University, Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2022 Sep 29; Vol. 17 (9), pp. e0273999. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Sep 29 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0273999
Abstrakt: Background: Children survive into adult life with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which previously would have been lethal in early childhood.
Methods: The study aimed to describe the current transitional process for Adolescents Living with HIV (ALHIV) in a resource-limited setting in Ashanti Region, Ghana. The study was an explorative study that used an interpretive paradigm. A semi-structured interview guide was used to interview ALHIV, selected by purposive sampling. The study was conducted at a tertiary hospital in Kumasi. Data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Results: Transitioning of ALHIV was done without any guide; the themes generated were on the process of transition in which they used age (13 and above) and disclosure as the criterion to move ALHIV to the adult clinic. Most adolescents complained about being stigmatised, the attitude of staff, interruption of school and separation anxiety as experiences they went through during the transitioning process. On improving transition, ALHIV felt sexual and reproductive health services, information on treatment, privacy, and support were necessary transition components.
Conclusion: The use of age and disclosure of status as a criterion for transitioning ALHIV affects moving and retaining this age group in HIV management programs in the adult clinics. There is, therefore, an urgent need for a guideline as the current transition process defeats the purpose of providing adolescents with age-specific care in the Adult Clinic.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Databáze: MEDLINE
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