title: Home-based care for parents with AIDS: impact on children's psychological functioning.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study explored the concept of home-based care for people living with full-blown AIDS and the impact of this on their children's psychological functioning. There were 30 children in the study whose parents had full-blown AIDS. The comparison group comprised 30 children. The parents of the children in the comparison group reported that they did not have full-blown AIDS and were not registered as AIDS patients with their community home-based care group.
  
  
  METHODS
  The children's psychological functioning and performance on cognitive tasks were examined, using the Impact of Event Scale - Revised, the Secondary Traumatic Stress Scale (STSS), the Stress Symptoms Checklist, the Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL), the British Ability Scales and Daniel and Diack's Graded Spelling Test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results of the study showed that children whose parents had full-blown AIDS showed mental distress and low cognitive performance on numerical and spelling skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of the study seem to suggest that although the home-based care concept is a noble and global idea, it should be accompanied by psychological support mechanisms to mitigate the effects of traumatic stress that normally follow exposure to a traumatic event. Suggestions for further research on the topic are discussed.
authors: Calvin
authors: C
authors: Gwandure