Jones S A, Sherman G G, Varga C A
Wits Paediatric HIV Working Group, Johannesburg, South Africa.
AIDS Care. 2005 May;17(4):466-70. doi: 10.1080/09540120412331319723.
In 2002, more than 280,000 HIV-exposed babies were born in South Africa. According to international PMTCT guidelines, these children require follow-up to 12 months of age. Worldwide, the high loss to follow-up rates experienced by PMTCT programs precludes them from identifying and managing HIV-infected children. Socio-economic factors have been identified as potential contributors to poor follow-up. A small descriptive study to examine socio-economic circumstances of women attending the Coronation Women and Children's Hospital PMTCT program was undertaken. Cross-sectional data from 176 women, interviewed at their infants' 12-month visit, was collected using a semi-structured questionnaire. Socio-economic factors such as poverty, geographical relocation and a lack of paternal support may affect the capacity of families to comply with the PMTCT follow-up program. Fifty-seven percent of mothers were unemployed, 25% of fathers did not support their children and only 58% of children remained resident in Johannesburg at the 12-month visit. The lack of follow-up of HIV-infected children denies them access to adequate medical care. Understanding the socio-economic factors that affect the ability of communities to comply with PMTCT programs will assist resource-poor countries in devising strategies to achieve follow-up of HIV-exposed infants.
2002年，南非有超过28万名接触过艾滋病毒的婴儿出生。根据国际预防母婴传播指南，这些儿童需要接受随访至12个月龄。在全球范围内，预防母婴传播项目面临的高失访率使其无法识别和管理感染艾滋病毒的儿童。社会经济因素已被确定为导致随访不佳的潜在因素。开展了一项小型描述性研究，以调查参加加冕妇女儿童医院预防母婴传播项目的妇女的社会经济状况。在婴儿12个月随访时，使用半结构化问卷收集了176名妇女的横断面数据。贫困、地理迁移和缺乏父亲支持等社会经济因素可能会影响家庭遵守预防母婴传播随访项目的能力。57%的母亲失业，25%的父亲不抚养孩子，在12个月随访时，只有58%的儿童仍居住在约翰内斯堡。对感染艾滋病毒儿童缺乏随访，使他们无法获得充分的医疗护理。了解影响社区遵守预防母婴传播项目能力的社会经济因素，将有助于资源匮乏国家制定策略，以实现对接触艾滋病毒婴儿的随访。
