HIV Disclosure to Infected Children Involving Peers: A New Take on HIV Disclosure in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Appropriately informing HIV-infected children of their diagnosis is a real challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. Until now, there is no consensus on who ought to disclose and how to disclose. This paper describes the model for HIV status disclosure in which HIV-positive children/adolescents are informed about their diagnosis in a process conducted by young peers under healthcare worker (HCW) supervision in a hospital in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Caregivers' Perspective on the Psychological Burden of Living with Children Affected by Sickle Cell Disease in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

There is limited information on knowledge, perceptions, and management of sickle cell disease (SCD) in Africa in general and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) in particular. This study explored knowledge, perceptions, and burden of 26 parents/caregivers of children with SCD in three selected hospitals in Kinshasa, DRC. We conducted a focus group with in-depth interviews with parents/caregivers of children affected with SCD.

Lessons Learned from the Impact of HIV Status Disclosure to Children after First-Line Antiretroviral Treatment Failure in Kinshasa, DR Congo.

HIV status disclosure to children remains a challenge in sub-Saharan Africa. For sociocultural reasons, parents often delay disclosure with subsequent risks to treatment compliance and the child’s psychological well-being. This article assesses the effects of HIV disclosure on second-line ART compliance after first-line failure.

"The Peer Educator Is the Game-Changer of My Life": Perceptions of Adolescents Living with HIV in DR Congo on Involving Peer Educators in the Process of HIV Disclosure.

Several approaches to the disclosure of HIV status to children and adolescents have been described. Each of these places particular emphasis on the role of parents and health care workers (HCWs) to mitigate the impact of disclosure on the adolescent without exploring the possible roles that other individuals might play in the process of disclosure. This article assesses the perceptions of adolescents living with HIV (ALHIV) about disclosure done by parents, guardians, HCWs, peer educators in the role of peer supporters, accidentally or by self-discovery, and the subsequent effects of disclosure method on their mental health.

Risk Genotypes Are Associated With Early Kidney Damage in Children in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Introduction: Apolipoprotein-L1 () risk variants G1 and G2 increase the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD), including HIV-related CKD, among African Americans. However, such data from populations living in Africa, especially children, remain limited. Our research aimed to determine the prevalence of risk variants and to assess the association between these variants and early-stage CKD in the general pediatric population and HIV-infected children.