Geraldine Dunne Clinical Nurse Consultant Paediatric Immunology and Infectious Disease, Sydney Children’s Hospital, NSW.
Summary
- Children and young people (YP) LWHIV in Australia
- Children and HIV: is it different to adults?
- Treatment issues in children and YP living with HIV
- Keeping well: growing children into healthy adults
- Psychosocial context and considerations
- Sharing of HIV status and sharing of health information
Inclusivity
Within this document we strive to include everyone, regardless of cultural background, ethnicity, faith, gender, gender expression, gender identity, race, or sexual orientation.
Introduction
Worldwide, in 2023 it was estimated that approximately 1.5 million children (aged < 15 years) were living with HIV (1). Transmission is primarily perinatal.
In Australia, as of early 2024, there are approximately 60 children (aged under 18 years) LWHIV. As no national data is recorded, these numbers are estimates. Most of these infections are due to perinatal transmission, which changes the lived experience entirely. Fortunately, in Australia, due to universal antenatal screening for pregnant women, perinatal transmission rates have steadily declined over the last three decades to less than 2% in 2021 (2). Therefore, many children and YP LWHIV in Australia currently, are overseas born, acquiring HIV before they arrived in Australia. This means they face further challenges in navigating new and unfamiliar health and education systems in their new country.