Adolescent HIV care is becoming an ever more important topic, as HIV-infected children on antiretroviral therapy navigate their way into adulthood. This is however not without difficulties, as the teenager years can be troubling times, even without an underlying chronic disease to manage.
Health care professionals, allied health care workers as well as staff from community organisations are in great need of training on assisting HIV-infected teenagers to become healthy and responsible adults – as was indicated by the oversubscription of this workshop.
The day began with Prof Theuns Avenant, Head of the Department of Paediatrics at Kalafong Hospital, delivering the opening address. The topics that followed covered a broad spectrum of issues regarding adolescent HIV care and included:
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Gynaecological aspects of Adolescence including HPV immunisation by Dr Trudy Smith,
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Psychosocial Aspects of HIV in Adolescence by Dr Marnie Vujovic,
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Novel Approaches for dealing with adolescents by Dr Leon Levin,
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Adolescent Groups by Juliet Houghton from CHIVA, and
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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and HIV by Dr WJ Levin.
Dr Ute Feucht, Paediatrician and Clinical Head of the Kalafong Paediatric HIV Services, concluded the proceedings with a well-deserved word of appreciation for Ms Deborah Shikhati from Abbott for sponsoring the event.
A follow-up workshop is already planned for the near future. We, the organisers of the workshop, would like to take this opportunity to thank all involved (Abbott, the Right-to-Care Training office, Shere Empowerment Conference Centre, speakers and attendees) for a hugely successful event!
Paediatric HIV services, Paediatric Infectious Diseases Unit
Kalafong hospital, University of Pretoria
Virtual Campus
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