Can family-centered programing mitigate HIV risk factors among orphaned and vulnerable adolescents? Results from a pilot study in South Africa

Figures & data

Table 1. Let's Talk program session outline.

Caregiver sessions		Adolescent sessions
Phase 1: Caregivers Matter
1.	Building a healthy family		No adolescent sessions
2.	Emotional awareness
3.	Coping with sadness
4.	Coping with anger
5.	Family problem-solving skills
Phase 2: Adolescents Matter
Joint 1 – Introduction and getting to know one another
2.	Raising an adolescent
Joint 3 – Developing positive family relationships
4.	Effective communication about emotions
Joint 5 – Problem solving
6.	Helping adolescents cope with difficult emotions
7.	Behavior Management
Joint 8 – Conflict Management
Phase 3: Protecting the Future
9.	Adolescent risk taking	9.	Sexual relationships
10.	Communicating with adolescents about sexual health	10.	Communicating about sex
11.	Understanding HIV	11.	HIV and STI's – Fact and fiction
12.	Preventing and responding to crises	12.	Condom use
Joint 13 – Future planning
Joint 14 – Graduation and looking ahead

Note: Following the pilot, the program was shortened to 14 caregiver sessions and 13 adolescent sessions, including four joint sessions. See Visser et al., 2018 for details on the revised program.

Table 2. Baseline characteristics of adolescents and their caregivers.

Adolescents (N = 105)			Caregivers (N = 95)
	N	%		N	%
Female	64	60.95	Female	95	100.00
Male	41	39.05	Married	45	47.37
Sexually active	17	16.19	Chronically ill	10	10.53
Orphan (single or double)	49	46.67	HIV positive	22	23.16
Caregiver relationship			Age
Mother	53	50.48	19–29	9	9.47
Grandmother	32	30.48	30–39	23	24.21
Sister	9	8.57	40–49	26	27.37
Aunt	10	9.52	50–59	9	9.48
Non-relative	1	0.95	60–69	16	16.84
			70–82	12	12.63
Age
12–13	21	20.00	Sessions Attended
14–15	55	52.38	1–5	8	8.42
16–17	29	27.62	6–10	12	12.63
			11–15	18	18.95
Sessions Attended			16–19	57	60.00
1–5	14	13.33	Attended a joint session with adolescent	92	96.84
5–10	21	20.00
11–14	70	66.67
Attended a joint session with caregiver	104	99.05

Table 3. Adjusted means and standard errors of key outcomes at pre- and post-intervention with group change expressed in unit terms and percentage of baseline average.

	Baseline		Post-test		GEE Results		%
	Mean	S.E.	Mean	S.E.	Coefficient	p-value	Change
Adolescent Level (N = 105)
Sex Refusal Self-efficacy	5.137	0.309	5.224	0.298	0.087	0.847	1.687
HIV Transmission Knowledge	5.696	0.136	6.113	0.154	0.417	0.008	7.313
Condom Knowledge	3.379	0.116	3.964	0.090	0.586	0.000	17.333
Condom Negotiation Self-efficacy	4.281	0.192	4.782	0.156	0.501	0.005	11.710
Mental Health	0.640	0.042	0.471	0.043	−0.169	0.004	−26.440
Caregiver Connection	50.633	0.872	55.986	0.897	5.353	0.000	10.573
Caregiver Sexual Communication	8.339	0.267	10.083	0.448	1.745	0.000	20.922
Caregiver Level (N = 95)
Mental Health	0.993	0.490	0.770	0.055	−0.223	0.007	−22.468
HIV Transmission Knowledge	6.280	0.061	6.477	0.089	0.197	0.040	3.133

Visser, M., Thurman, T. R., Spyrelis, A., Taylor, T. M., Nice, J., & Finestone, M. (2018). Development and formative evaluation of a family-centered adolescent HIV prevention programme in South Africa. Evaluation and Program Planning, 68(2018), 124–134. doi: 10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2018.03.002

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