title: Quality of life among Ghanaian adolescents living with perinatally acquired HIV: a mixed methods study.
abstract: In Sub-Saharan Africa, increasing numbers of children with perinatally acquired HIV (PAHIV) are living into adolescence. These adolescents face numerous unique challenges such as parent illness/death and years of medication use. Optimizing care for these youth requires an understanding of the factors that contribute to physical health, psychological well-being, social relationships, and quality of life (QOL). This mixed methods study collected quantitative questionnaire data from 40 Ghanaian adolescents with PAHIV (50% female, 12-19 years old) who received care through an adolescent HIV clinic in Kumasi, Ghana. The study also presents results from qualitative interviews conducted with 20 adolescents. Results from quantitative analyses suggested that a significant number of participants were not virally suppressed (67%) and participants reported barriers to treatment adherence, limited social support, concerns about disclosure and HIV-related stigma, limited resources, and lower than expected QOL. Salient themes from the qualitative analyses included limited understanding of how HIV is transmitted, the interplay between food insecurity and treatment adherence and the need for developing safe relationships through which adolescents can discuss their illness without fear of accidental disclosure of their HIV status.
authors.affiliation: a Directorate of Child Health , Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital , Kumasi , Ghana.|b Department of Child Health , Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology , Kumasi , Ghana.
authors.forename: Anthony
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Enimil
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychiatry , Rhode Island Hospital , Providence , RI , USA.|d Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior , Alpert Medical School, Brown University , Providence , RI , USA.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nugent
authors.affiliation: e Psychiatry Department , Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital , Kumasi , Ghana.|f Department of Behavioural Sciences , School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology , Kumasi , Ghana.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Amoah
authors.affiliation: g Directorate of Medicine , Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital , Kumasi , Ghana.|h Department of Medicine , Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology , Kumasi , Ghana.
authors.forename: Betty
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Norman
authors.affiliation: a Directorate of Child Health , Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital , Kumasi , Ghana.|b Department of Child Health , Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology , Kumasi , Ghana.
authors.forename: Sampson
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Antwi
authors.affiliation: i Department of Sociology , University of Ghana , Accra , Ghana.
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ocran
authors.affiliation: j Department of Medicine , The Miriam Hospital , Providence , RI , USA.|k Department of Medicine , Alpert Medical School, Brown University , Providence , RI , USA.
authors.forename: Awewura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kwara
authors.affiliation: c Department of Psychiatry , Rhode Island Hospital , Providence , RI , USA.|d Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior , Alpert Medical School, Brown University , Providence , RI , USA.
authors.forename: David H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Barker
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D044383:Black People / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D032882:Comprehension; D030881:Disclosure; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000151:congenital* / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D057545:Social Stigma; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Adolescent; HIV; adherence; quality of life; west Africa