Abstract #19  -  Supporting infected children by involving their parents in groups of word: a successful community strategy
Authors:   Presenting Author:   Mr SOUBEIGA Daogo Jacques Abraham - Association "Espoir et Vie"
Additional Authors:  Mrs KOALA Colette,
Aim: We recieved parents who were complaining about the difficulty of their children to follow-up the treatments. So in order to provide an efficient support we set a strategy that should bring together parents and children.
Method / Issue: This experience took place in a community organization and concerned 10 infected children and their parents. As a psychologist we received in interview some parents who were complaining about the difficulty of their children to follow-up the treatments. We discovered that the main reason of this situation was the fact that those parents did not share their own serological status what did not help them explain the long time treatments that their infants had to take. So in order to provide an efficient support we set a strategy that should bring together parents and children.
Results / Comments: The experience consisted of setting groups of word gathering ten infected children aged from 4 to 8 with their parents. The experience took place during six months. We met twice a month. In the beginning of the experience we noticed that both children and parents hesitated to express their feelings. After to meetings helping them express we remark that children were the first to speak and tell about themselves and finally about their relations with their parents. Even very young children are not fool and they know that there is something wrong when it is the case. So they knew that they were taking medicines which were not for the usual diseases. Moreover when side effects appeared they started wondering about what happened and their peers at home or at school were curious then gave rise to their own curiosity. Thus parents involved in the groups started to express because they felt ashamed and ill at ease by what was told by the children. So we could notice that the problem of the parents was a lack of communication with their own infants. They had serious maters regarding the way to tell to their children about their own situation and subsequently about the situation of their children. The serological status of parents makes them feel guilty and they fear of speaking about AIDS to their children because they do not know how those ones would feel it. Thanks to their involvement in our groups of word parents were able to express in front of their children. After four months of experience some parents could express and communicate about the infection and the treatments with their children.
Discussion: The experience of group of word as a strategy to help parent in the support of their infected children showed remarkable factors. First children can understand what is happening to them as a disease when clearly and honestly explained. Moreover parents need to communicate with their infants about anything that concerns them both. Communication in family is very important to support people concerned by the infection of HIV/AIDS specifically children who need particular follow-up. Thanks to this experience some parents can now provide advices to other parents in the same situation as we noticed in adult groups of word.
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