Abstract
This study was designed to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of children living with HIV at an institutional care home in Bangalore, India. The Sneha Care Home is a unique residence that provides educational and community support with a focus on physical, nutritional, medical, and psychological care for orphans and vulnerable children. Cross-sectional health measures and interview data were collected from 97 residents including 52 boys and 45 girls between 5 and 12 years of age (mean age = 9). QOL was measured with the Pediatric Quality of Life 4.0 (PedsQL) Inventory. Caregivers perceived children to have an overall higher QOL than was self-reported by children (total score 83 vs. 78). Our findings indicated self-reported QOL decreased with age of the child, while caregiver-reported QOL increased with age, suggesting a need to ensure greater psychological support for older children. Physical measures showed the children’s clinical severity of disease remained well controlled living in this residential, values-based care home.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 345-352 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Vulnerable Children and Youth Studies |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue number | 4 |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Oct 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2014 Taylor & Francis.
Keywords
- HIV-positive children
- India
- institutional care
- quality of life
