Social Maladaptation of Teenagers with HIV Through Discontinuation of Antiretroviral Therapy

interruption by teenagers and to determine preventive solutions. THEORETICAL BASE:
The article is theoretically based on international and Ukrainian studies of adherence to ART
formation. METHODS: HIV-positive young men and girls aged 14-19 years took part in the
survey. The data were collected by defining focus groups and a Google-form questionnaire.
OUTCOMES: It was found that ART influences self-perception, behaviour, communication, lifestyle
and identity of ateenager living with HIV, thus affecting the context of their socialization.
The factors that lead to discontinuation of ART by adolescents (inconvenient treatment plans,
side effects, non-acceptance of diagnosis and restrictions, incomplete information on ART and
unreliable sources of such information, conflicts with parents and stigmatization of children living
with HIV) were identified. SOCIAL WORK IMPLICATIONS: Training parents and health
care workers to be able to explain to the child the peculiarities of ART; training children in life
skills with regard to their HIV status and ART; teaching parents the communication skills to
deal with teenagers; setting up support groups for children and their parents; organizing support campaigns in communities to counteract stigmatization; providing social services to families of
children living with HIV.