Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116825

Mari P. Millery, PhD¹, Monique Centrone, MA¹, Emily A. Nishi, MPA¹, Nancy Van Devanter, DrPH², Sarai Padilla, PsyD³, and Seydi Vazquez, RN⁴. (1) Center for Applied Public Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th Street, New York, NY 10032, 212-305-6821, mm994@columbia.edu, (2) Columbia University, 600 West 168th Street, New York, NY 10031, (3) Center for Comprehensive Care, St Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center, 1000 Tenth Avenue, New York, NY 10001, (4) Women and Children Care Center, New York-Presbyterian Medical Center, 620 W 168th Street, New York, NY 10032

BACKGROUND: While the rate of perinatal HIV-infection has been minimized in the U.S. and HIV is becoming a manageable chronic illness, perinatally HIV-infected children in the U.S. are aging into adolescence. The Partnership for Family Health (PFFH), a RWCA Title IV-funded consortium that services over 2,000 HIV-infected and affected women, children, youth, and family members in northern Manhattan in New York City, provides care to 331 perinatally infected children and youth.

METHODS: The PFFH maintains a centralized database of client characteristics and services. Quantitative data will be presented for the perinatally infected group, which in 2002 included 14 infants, 264 children age 2-12, and 53 adolescents age 13-25. Qualitative descriptions and examples will be presented of specific issues, challenges, and interventions identified by the program staff.

RESULTS: Of the perinatal group, 53% are female, 53% are Black, and 40% Hispanic. They are economically disadvantaged - 95% have public insurance and 2% are uninsured. The older adolescents have particularly unstable disease status, indicated by a significant proportion (30-45%) experiencing a drop of 20% or more in their CD-4 count within a year. This subgroup is also a high utilizer of mental health services. Other special challenges include: treatment adherence, disclosure of HIV-status, sexual behaviors, school issues, and behavioral problems. Several pregnancies are reported among the perinatal group.

CONCLUSIONS: Perinatally HIV-infected children and youth in the U.S. are a population with severe health and social needs arising from their disadvantaged socioeconomic environment and from unique challenges of managing HIV medically and psychosocially.

Learning Objectives:

• To learn about the population of perinatally HIV infected children and adolescents.
• To understand the unique behavioral and socioeconomic issues facing perinatally HIV infected children and adolescents.
• To become familiar with the specific challenges service providers face in attempting to serve this population and interventions identified by the PFFH staff.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS,

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.