TY - JOUR
T1 - The association of home environment and caregiver factors with neurocognitive function in pre-school- and school-aged perinatally acquired HIV-positive children on cART in South Africa
AU - Lentoor, Antonio George
N1 - Funding Information:
I would like to thank the study participants for their contribution to the research. Special thank you his supervisor Prof Petersen, research assistant Ms. Nte for assisting with data collection, and Ms. Lane for editing the manuscript.I acknowledge the receipt of a grant from the National Research Foundation (NRF), which partially funded the research from which this study emerge. In addition, funding for this publication was in part supported by Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University Research
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019 Lentoor.
Copyright:
Copyright 2019 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - © 2019 Lentoor. Background: Children with perinatally acquired HIV in low resource settings are at risk for neurocognitive impairments not only due to the direct effects of HIV on the brain and in utero ART exposure but also due to factors associated with their environment. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the association between home environment and caregiver factors and the neurocognitive function of pre-school- and-school-aged HIV-positive South African children from low resource rural communities. Materials and Methods: The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III was administered to assess the neurocognitive functioning of 152 purposively sampled perinatally acquired HIV-positive children on cART, aged 3 years to 7 years 6 months (mean age 63.13 months). The primary caregivers (n = 152) completed the Home Screening Questionnaire to assess the quality of the home-environment of the children. Results :The results showed that unfavorable environment, caregiver type, and quality of stimulation in the home were negatively associated with the neurocognitive development of perinatally HIV-positive children on cART. Most of the HIV-positive children (n = 95) were under the care of an extended relative. Older HIV-positive boys, reared by biological mothers, who also lived in suboptimal and poor quality home-environments had poorer neurocognitive function when compared to HIV-positive children reared by non-biological (extended relatives) caregivers, [F(2,149) = 14.42, p < 0.001]. Conclusion: The child's early home environment is associated with general neurocognitive development, which highlights the need for early psychosocial interventions that can promote better cognitive outcomes among children living with HIV.
AB - © 2019 Lentoor. Background: Children with perinatally acquired HIV in low resource settings are at risk for neurocognitive impairments not only due to the direct effects of HIV on the brain and in utero ART exposure but also due to factors associated with their environment. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the association between home environment and caregiver factors and the neurocognitive function of pre-school- and-school-aged HIV-positive South African children from low resource rural communities. Materials and Methods: The Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-III was administered to assess the neurocognitive functioning of 152 purposively sampled perinatally acquired HIV-positive children on cART, aged 3 years to 7 years 6 months (mean age 63.13 months). The primary caregivers (n = 152) completed the Home Screening Questionnaire to assess the quality of the home-environment of the children. Results :The results showed that unfavorable environment, caregiver type, and quality of stimulation in the home were negatively associated with the neurocognitive development of perinatally HIV-positive children on cART. Most of the HIV-positive children (n = 95) were under the care of an extended relative. Older HIV-positive boys, reared by biological mothers, who also lived in suboptimal and poor quality home-environments had poorer neurocognitive function when compared to HIV-positive children reared by non-biological (extended relatives) caregivers, [F(2,149) = 14.42, p < 0.001]. Conclusion: The child's early home environment is associated with general neurocognitive development, which highlights the need for early psychosocial interventions that can promote better cognitive outcomes among children living with HIV.
KW - Biological and non-biological (extended relatives) caregivers
KW - CART
KW - Children
KW - HIV
KW - Home environment
KW - Neurocognitive function
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85065289268&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fped.2019.00077
DO - 10.3389/fped.2019.00077
M3 - Article
SN - 2296-2360
VL - 7
JO - Frontiers in Pediatrics
JF - Frontiers in Pediatrics
IS - MAR
M1 - 77
ER -