Psychologist Maureen Lyon and physician Lawrence D'Angelo of Children's National Medical Center in Washington have compiled "Teenagers, HIV, and AIDS," possibly the first text to weave the experience of young patients with the knowledge of experts into plain-talk facts and advice. Available online and in stores, the book addresses medical treatment as well as support and disclosure issues. Beyond teens, it targets health care providers, school leaders, and parents.
HIV diagnoses are increasing among youths ages 13-19. According to the authors, a positive result must be followed by a compassionate and highly individualized conversation, since every aspect of HIV can be different in these cases, from the progression of HIV in a teen's body to the services available to them.
"Managing a life-threatening and socially stigmatizing illness is emotionally difficult and challenging for adults," noted one contributing author. "It is even more difficult for adolescents, who are more vulnerable and less prepared to deal with a health crisis of this magnitude, much less deal with it alone."
Lyon and D'Angelo have worked at Children's since Washington became an HIV epicenter in the 1980s. The book is dedicated to the more than 400 HIV-positive children for whom the staff there have cared. "They have served as teachers to us all," the longtime clinicians said.
Children's patients today reflect the current arc of the disease. Three-fifths were born to infected mothers; the remainder, both male and female, acquired HIV through sexual behavior. And the makeup of that group is shifting: Girls have gotten smarter, and safer, while HIV among young gay males is rising dramatically. "There's a whole new cohort that has to be educated," said Lyon.
01/08/08
UNITED STATES: Teen Voices of AIDS
Source: Washington Post:: Susan Levine; Courtesy of the CDC National Center for HIV, STD, and TB Prevention