Bioethics Calendar Of Event
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Event Title: Parental Loss and HIV Infection among Young People in South Africa
Date: 11/2/2009
Time:
12:30 pm to 1:45 pm
Place: Allan Rosenfield Building,
722 West 168th St.
Room: Rosenfield Auditorium, 8th Floor
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Speaker: Elizabeth Jackson, PhD, MHS, Family Health International
Sponsor: The Heilbrunn Department of Population and Family Health
Contact Information:
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| Description: This seminar will present findings from a study of HIV risk among South African young people aged 15-24. Data are drawn from a 2002 household survey in 33 communities with high levels of HIV and from interviews and focus group discussions with orphan and vulnerable teenagers. Survey data are used to assess the association between parental loss and HIV in the context of gender, age and living situation. Young people below age 20 who have experienced parental loss are particularly at risk relative to their peers, and females who have lost their fathers but live with their mothers appear to be especially vulnerable. The gendered association between HIV and parental loss in the survey population is investigated in qualitative analyses. Focus group discussions and interviews suggest that poverty impedes male orphan partnerships while it drives female orphans to form sexual partnerships. Factors influencing orphan sexual debut and partnership characteristics will be discussed, and challenges for public health intervention programs will be explored. |
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