Test Children for HIV?

Over the past decade, advocacy and awareness of HIV and AIDS prevention has gained momentum in decreasing stigmas associated with the infections.

However, certain stigmas still exist, especially when it comes to screening minors, who have always had low screening rates, according to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center of the Permian Basin. Questioning the historically low rates, Texas Tech researchers wanted to know if parental attitudes served as potential barriers for screening minors.

“We were speculating what would cause a parent to be willing and not willing (to have their child screened),” Dr. Stephanie Caples said. “We wanted to know what parents think.”

In a survey conducted at the school’s Family Health Clinic, the researchers found that 57 percent of 78 parents questioned agreed or strongly agreed to screen their child for HIV. Forty-four percent said the optimum screening age should be 11 to 15 years old.

The results are part of an ongoing study conducted by Caples and other principal investigator Dr. Jamal Islam that assesses parental attitudes and knowledge on HIV. During June 2010, Caples and Islam surveyed parents who used the Texas Tech Family Health Clinic and who have children between the ages of 10 and 24 years.

Parents were given a questionnaire that asked their age, gender, ethnicity, dwelling, number of children and if they themselves have been screened. Parents were also tested on their knowledge of HIV.

Caples said that even though the parents were asked about subjects that might have a potential influence on their decision, such as income and ethnicity, neither of those issues seemed to be a predictor of the resulting answers.

Two influential factors were the parents’ fear that their child might get HIV or their child is possibly at risk of acquiring the virus. Of the 57 percent who agreed or strongly agreed to screen their child, 72 percent said it was out of fear their child could get HIV.

“There’s not a clear indication if their child was sexually active,” Caples said. “But that might seem like a motivation.”

Midland-Odessa Area AIDS Support associate director Renue Batula said she was impressed with the results, because parents need to start realizing the possibility that their kids could be sexually active.

“Unfortunately (minors) are becoming sexually active younger and younger, and there needs to be testing. It’s something that needs to be closely looked at to really stress that kids need to be tested,” Batula said. “I think it’s awesome that parents are willing to realize that and are on board with kids being tested.”

If their children are sexually active, Batula said, the fear of HIV screening or the stigmas associated with it shouldn’t be a deterrent to a virus that grows more harmful the later it’s diagnosed.

“Parents need to be aware that the possibility is there that their children may be having sex. If the possibility is there, wouldn’t you want to know that your child has got something potentially deadly,” Batula said. “If that child did have (HIV), you would not want to find out 10 or 12 years down the road when that child has AIDS and is dying of it.”

Only 20 percent of parents disagreed or strongly disagreed to screen their child. Twenty-three percent had no opinion. Caples said with awareness and education, those parents with no opinion on the issue might be swayed into agreeing to screen their children.

“My hope would be that if the doctors spoke with them, they would agree,” Caples said. “I hope what we could do is bring awareness of having HIV screening in children’s well check. More primary care centers will ask parents to consent regularly. I think that could be implemented.”

Education remains the key to prevention for Batula and MAAS founder Judy Warren. Warren, whose brother died of AIDS in 1990, often speaks to schools, churches and businesses of her brother’s struggle and the importance of AIDS awareness.

Batula said most people don’t know much about HIV and AIDS until they or someone close to them gets infected. For Batula, it was her son, who was diagnosed with HIV in 2007 when he was 19 years old, just after his graduation from Midland Lee High.

“I was devastated at first, extremely devastated. I didn’t know anything about HIV. Once I came to MAAS, I got more educated,” Batula said.

Batula’s son was diagnosed early enough to prevent the development of AIDS within his body longer.

“I’m thankful my son got tested, because he did have it. I’m thankful we caught it as early as we did,” Batula said. “Just because he has it doesn’t mean he’s going to die from it. He’s keeping it under control with medication.”

Parents should also have an open communication with their children, Caples said.

“When a child is under the age of 18, parents have to inform themselves,” Caples said. “They can talk to their family physician; they can call resources like the CDC or World Health Organization in order to learn to speak to their child about it.”

Wendy Rathbun, a parent to nine-year-old and 11-year-old boys and a 14-year-old girl, said she prefers to talk with her children when they’re at an adolescent age, around 13 or 14 years, to make sure they’ve reached a mature age to discuss sexual education.

“I initiate (conversation) if there’s something I heard in the news or something she needs to know,” Rathbun, who is also a nurse, said about discussions with her daughter. “Usually, if she has a question about what she sees on TV or something they discussed at school, I let her bring it up.”

Rathbun said if parents don’t have that communication with their child, they might learn their sexual education from more unreliable sources like their peers.

“If they don’t ask the parents or someone with knowledge, they’ll go by myths and what their friends perceive, and they’ll get misinformation,” Rathbun said. “It could be detrimental to their health.”

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.


TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!