Strengthening the Psychosocial Well-being of Youth-headed House-
holds in Rwanda: Baseline Findings from an Intervention Trial
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For children in Rwanda, the combined effects of the 1994 geno-
cide and the HIV/AIDS pandemic have been devastating, resulting
in large numbers of child-headed households. Tulane University
School of Public Health, Rwanda School of Public Health, World
Vision Rwanda, and the Horizons Program formed a partnership to
assess the impact of participation in an adult mentorship pro-
gram on the psychosocial well-being of youth living in Gikongoro
province of Rwanda and of the adult mentors. In addition, the
study aims to develop, pilot, and refine a reliable and valid
instrument to assess community-based psychosocial interventions.
This update presents key findings from the baseline data on psy-
chosocial distress, social support, abuse and maltreatment, and
HIV-related knowledge and behaviors among youth heads of house-
holds.
Research Update - Adobe PDF file (10 pp. 323 kB):
http://www.popcouncil.org/pdfs/horizons/rwpsychsocru.pdf
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Horizons is a global operations research initiative designed to:
1) identify and test strategies to improve HIV/AIDS prevention,
treatment, and care programs; and
2) disseminate research findings and promote their utilization
with the aim of replicating and scaling up successful interven-
tions.
Horizons is implemented by the Population Council in partnership
with the International Center for Research on Women, the Inter-
national HIV/AIDS Alliance, PATH, Tulane University, Family
Health International, and Johns Hopkins University. Horizons is
funded by the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief through
the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Sherry Hutchinson
mailto:SHutchinson@PCDC.ORG