Tatenda Mawoyo, Kathryn J Steventon Roberts, Christina Laurenzi, Sarah Skeen, Stefani Du Toit, Ramsha Hisham, Lucie Cluver, Lorraine Sherr, Mark Tomlinson
{"title":"How do new crises impact HIV risk behaviour - exploring HIV risk behaviour according to COVID-19-related orphanhood status in South Africa?","authors":"Tatenda Mawoyo, Kathryn J Steventon Roberts, Christina Laurenzi, Sarah Skeen, Stefani Du Toit, Ramsha Hisham, Lucie Cluver, Lorraine Sherr, Mark Tomlinson","doi":"10.1080/09540121.2024.2333435","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in high death rates globally, and over 10.5 million children lost a parent or primary caregiver. Because HIV-related orphanhood has been associated with elevated HIV risk, we sought to examine HIV risk in children affected by COVID-19 orphanhood. Four hundred and twenty-one children and adolescents were interviewed, measuring seven HIV risk behaviours: condom use, age-disparate sex, transactional sex, multiple partners, sex associated with drugs/alcohol, mental health and social risks. Approximately 50% (211/421) experienced orphanhood due to COVID-19, 4.8% (20/421) reported living in an HIV-affected household, and 48.2% (203/421) did not know the HIV status of their household. The mean age of the sample was 12.7 years (SD:2.30), of whom 1.2% (5/421) were living with HIV. Eighty percent (337/421) reported at least one HIV risk behaviour. HIV sexual risk behaviours were more common among children living in HIV-affected households compared to those not living in HIV-affected households and those with unknown household status (35.0% vs. 13.6% vs.10.8%, X2 = 9.25, <i>p</i> = 0.01). Children living in HIV-affected households had poorer mental health and elevated substance use (70.0% vs. 48.5%, X2 = 6.21, <i>p</i> = 0.05; 35.0% vs. 19.9%, X2 = 4.02, <i>p</i> = 0.1306, respectively). HIV-affected households may require specific interventions to support the health and well-being of children and adolescents.</p>","PeriodicalId":48370,"journal":{"name":"Aids Care-Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of Aids/hiv","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.2000,"publicationDate":"2024-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Aids Care-Psychological and Socio-Medical Aspects of Aids/hiv","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09540121.2024.2333435","RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2024/5/6 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q4","JCRName":"HEALTH POLICY & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in high death rates globally, and over 10.5 million children lost a parent or primary caregiver. Because HIV-related orphanhood has been associated with elevated HIV risk, we sought to examine HIV risk in children affected by COVID-19 orphanhood. Four hundred and twenty-one children and adolescents were interviewed, measuring seven HIV risk behaviours: condom use, age-disparate sex, transactional sex, multiple partners, sex associated with drugs/alcohol, mental health and social risks. Approximately 50% (211/421) experienced orphanhood due to COVID-19, 4.8% (20/421) reported living in an HIV-affected household, and 48.2% (203/421) did not know the HIV status of their household. The mean age of the sample was 12.7 years (SD:2.30), of whom 1.2% (5/421) were living with HIV. Eighty percent (337/421) reported at least one HIV risk behaviour. HIV sexual risk behaviours were more common among children living in HIV-affected households compared to those not living in HIV-affected households and those with unknown household status (35.0% vs. 13.6% vs.10.8%, X2 = 9.25, p = 0.01). Children living in HIV-affected households had poorer mental health and elevated substance use (70.0% vs. 48.5%, X2 = 6.21, p = 0.05; 35.0% vs. 19.9%, X2 = 4.02, p = 0.1306, respectively). HIV-affected households may require specific interventions to support the health and well-being of children and adolescents.