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Colombia Médica 2011
Children affected with HIV/AIDS: Information of HIV/AIDS in five Colombian citiesKeywords: hiv seropositive, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, information about hiv/aids, patient education as subject, childhood population. Abstract: objectives: to describe information about hiv/aids in a youth population under 18 years of age affected with hiv/aids and caregivers in five colombian cities: cali, buenaventura, barranquilla, santa marta, and cartagena. methods: 286 personal surveys were conducted: 11 of children who were aware of their status of involvement with hiv/aids and 275 of caregivers of children who did not know their status of involvement with hiv/aids. the surveys were conducted in health institutions in the state and private sectors and private, using instruments in line with training programs from participating institutions to inquire about hiv/aids. descriptive analysis was performed of the data and tabulation was done with the spss program. results: most children who knew their status of involvement with hiv/aids report that by acquiring the hiv virus, they may develop other diseases; however, half of these fail to recognize that aids weakens the body's ability to fight infection. the children surveyed partly recognized the hiv/aids transmission and treatment mechanisms, while caregivers possess adequate information on the disease. we found reasons to delay the delivery of diagnosis by caregivers 96.2% (n=275) related to avoiding psychological harm to the children, and that if they were to know said status, they might inadvertently disclose this to others, probably exposing them to stigma and/or discrimination. likewise, professionals providing health services to hiv seropositive children express lack of training regarding the proper procedure and age to reveal such information. conclusions: it is a priority to enhance the capacity, information, and education of patients about effects, characteristics, manifestations, and treatment of the disease within the comprehensive health management processes conducive to supporting affected families.
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