Abstract:
Caring for adolescents living with HIV/AIDS (ALHIV) can be overwhelming due to their unique needs.
Ghana is currently among nine countries in West and Central Africa contributing to 90% of new paediatric infections in
the sub-region with a growing population of ALHIV. Regardless, gaps in paediatric related care including healthcare
providers (HCPs) capacity issues have been identified. This study sought to assess the competencies of adolescentoriented
healthcare providers before, and after interventionist training to inform recommendation that would guide
the psychosocial care they give to ALHIV.
Methods: The study adopted a mixed methods approach with a non-randomized interventional study involving threephase
multi-methods. The sample consisted of 28 adolescent-oriented and multi-disciplinary healthcare providers at
the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital (CCTH) in Ghana. Data were obtained in three phases, namely, a baseline survey,
interventionist training, and post-training in-depth interviews. Quantitative data were analyzed using Stata version 13
for descriptive analysis while the qualitative data were analyzed thematically using NVivo version 11.
Results: Although the majority of the HCPs claim to be knowledgeable about adolescent health issues (n = 21, 75.0%),
only about a third (n = 10, 35.7%) could correctly define who an adolescent is. The majority (n = 18, 64.3%) had not
received any training on how to work with the adolescent client. The main areas identified for improvement in the
ALHIV care in phase 1 included issues with psychosocial assessment, communication and treatment adherence
strategies, creating an adolescent-friendly work environment, and availability of job aids/protocols. During the posttraining
interviews, participants reported an improved understanding of the characteristics of an adolescent-friendly
site and basic principles for ALHIV care. They were also able to correctly describe the widely used adolescent health
assessment tool; the HEEADSSS. Post intervention interviews also revealed HCPs perception on increased practice
related confidence levels and readiness to implement new knowledge and skills gained. Conclusion: This study has shown that targeted training on routine ALHIV care is effective in increasing HCPs
knowledge, skills and confidence. Addressing the healthcare system/facility related gaps serves as an impetus
for improved ALHIV care among HCPs.
