نبذة مختصرة : In settings where combination antiretroviral therapy is generally available, HIV has changed from being a fatal disease to a chronic condition. In contrast to the era before combination antiretroviral therapy, children with prenatally or early acquired HIV are expected to survive childhood and live an adult life. Since this is a new and growing group of young people in society who are in contact with health care, it is essential to be able to provide the support these children and their families need. To be able to do this, it is essential to investigate perceptions of health-related quality of life and HIV-related stigma among these children. Previous research is limited and has mainly focused on children living in households where one or more members are living with a known HIV infection but where the child’s HIV status is unknown. The overall aim of this thesis is therefore to gain an increased understanding of health-related quality of life and HIV-related stigma in the context of children and young adults living with HIV infection in Sweden. The thesis comprises four papers, one based on a qualitative study (I) and three based on a quantitative study (II-IV). In paper I the aim was to explore the young adults’ experiences of growing up with HIV in urban Sweden. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews with ten young adults (5 female and 5 male; aged 15-21) with early acquired HIV. Qualitative content analysis of the transcribed interviews revealed five main categories describing the experiences of growing up and living with HIV in Sweden. The categories are about protecting oneself from being stigmatized, being in control, losses in life, the importance of health care and having faith in the future despite living with an HIV infection. The quantitative study is cross-sectional, nationwide and consists of three papers (II-IV). The participants in papers II and III comprise 58 children aged 8-18 years; 37 of those younger than 17 were, together with one of their legal guardians, included in paper ...
Relation: I. Rydström, LL., Ygge, BM., Tingberg, B., Navér, L. & Eriksson, LE. Experiences of young adults growing up with innate or early acquired HIV infection - a qualitative study. J Adv Nurs, 2013. 69(6): p. 1357-65. ::doi::10.1111/j.1365-2648.2012.06127.x ::pmid::22909297 ::isi::000317591100014; II. Wiklander, M., Rydström, LL., Ygge, BM., Wettergren, L., Navér. L.& Eriksson, LE. Psychometric properties of a short version of the HIV stigma scale, adapted for children with HIV infection. Health Qual Life Outcomes, 2013. 11: p. 195. ::doi::10.1186/1477-7525-11-195. ::pmid::24225077 ::isi::000328559900002; III. Rydström, LL.,Wiklander, M., Navér, L., Ygge, BM. & Eriksson, LE. HIV-related stigma and health-related quality of life among children living with HIV in Sweden. [Submitted]; IV. Rydström, LL., Wiklander, M., Navér, L., Ygge BM. & Eriksson, LE. Children with HIV infection and their legal guardians’ ratings of the child´s health-related quality of life and HIV-related stigma [Submitted]; http://hdl.handle.net/10616/44671
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