The Use of Support Groups to Facilitate Resilience and Quality of Life in Families Affected by HIV

Abstract

HIV has a potentially detrimental effect on South African families. Families exposed to HIV are overwhelmingly single-parent families living in extreme poverty and exposed to high levels of violence. Caregivers do not only have to cope with being HIV positive and the stigma related to HIV, but they also have to manage as parents of vulnerable children. Children exposed to maternal HIV are vulnerable to develop long-term emotional and psychological difficulties. There is thus a definite need for meticulously researched, theory-based intervention programmes that recognize the importance of psychosocial needs and resilience of young children in order to enhance the quality of family life in South Africa. It is essential that families exposed to maternal HIV receive adequate support. The Kgolo Mmogo intervention support group programme was grounded in a systematic review of accrued evidence of compelling vulnerability and protective processes that tend to reduce the negative effects of parental HIV-infection. This intervention programme is resultant of the first African based randomised control trial for HIV affected caregivers and their young children attending support group sessions. The intervention provides empirical data from which community workers, researchers, and practitioners can tailor-make group sessions for the South African population and promote resilience in young children.