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Parental Experiences of Living with HIV in Bangladesh

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Abstract

Objectives

Little is known about the vulnerabilities faced by human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] positive parents living with their children in Bangladesh.

Methods

A qualitative research design was used to examine parental experiences of living with HIV in the Bangladeshi family context, with data collected through in-depth interviews with 19 individuals in the cities of Khulna and Dhaka.

Results

Psychological distress emerged as a major theme, specifically in regard to parental concern about their childrens’ future. Economic insecurity was a primary concern, with financial difficulties a consequence of reduced income, savings and assets. Impacts were greater with parents who were poor, where both parents were HIV-positive, in families with a single parent, particularly single or widowed women, and parents living with significant HIV-related disabilities.

Conclusions

There is an urgent need to both develop and implement appropriate psychological health- and wider social-care programmes for the welfare of parents living with HIV and their families in Bangladesh.

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Author Contributions

M.S.I.: involved in designing and implementing the study, collected data from the field, involved in analysing the data and interpretation the result, and wrote the draft manuscript. S.W.: collaborated in the writing, organising and editing the final manuscript. V.M.: involved in designing and implementing the study as a principal supervisor, and read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia

    Md Shahidul Islam

  2. School of Rural Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia

    Stuart Wark

  3. University of New England, Armidale, NSW, 2351, Australia

    Victor Minichiello

  4. School of Social Justice, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Victor Minichiello

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  1. Md Shahidul Islam
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Correspondence to Md Shahidul Islam.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

Prior to conducting this research project, ethical approval from the Human Research Ethics. Committee (HREC), University of New England, Australia was obtained (approval number: HE11/010).

Informed Consent

Written informed consent was obtained from all participants included in this study.

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Shahidul Islam, M., Wark, S. & Minichiello, V. Parental Experiences of Living with HIV in Bangladesh. J Child Fam Stud 29, 699–710 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01609-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-019-01609-z

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