The Impact of a Comprehensive Microfinance Intervention on Depression Levels of AIDS-Orphaned Children in Uganda
The Impact of a Comprehensive Microfinance Intervention on Depression Levels of AIDS-Orphaned Children in Uganda
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.08.008
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发表时间：
2012-04-01
影响因子：
7.6
通讯作者：
Ismayilova, Leyla
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Ssewamala, Fred M.;Neilands, Torsten B.;Ismayilova, Leyla
目的：贫困对家庭功能和稳定性造成不利影响，是儿童心理健康功能低下的重要危险因素。这项研究考察了旨在降低贫困风险的综合小额信贷干预措施对艾滋病孤儿青年抑郁的影响。方法：来自乌干达拉凯区15所类似小学的儿童被随机分配到对照组(n=148)或治疗组(n=138)。拉凯区是该国受艾滋病毒/艾滋病影响最严重的地区之一。接受治疗的儿童接受全面的小额信贷干预，包括匹配的储蓄账户、财务管理研讨会和指导。这是对所有在校孤儿提供的传统服务(咨询和学习用品)之外的补充。在第1波(基线)、第2波(干预后10个月)和第3波(干预后20个月)收集数据。我们使用多水平成长模型来检验抑郁在治疗和控制条件下的发展轨迹，并使用儿童抑郁问卷(Kovacs)进行测量。结果：治疗组儿童的抑郁显著减少，而对照组儿童的抑郁没有变化。结论：研究结果表明，除了传统的心理社会方法外，在撒哈拉以南非洲地区孤儿的心理健康功能方面，融入以扶贫为重点的方法，如这种综合的小额信贷干预，具有改善这些儿童心理社会功能的潜力。(C)2012年青少年健康和医学学会。版权所有。
Purpose: By adversely affecting family functioning and stability, poverty constitutes an important risk factor for children's poor mental health functioning. This study examines the impact of a comprehensive microfinance intervention, designed to reduce the risk of poverty, on depression among AIDS-orphaned youth.Methods: Children from 15 comparable primary schools in Rakai District of Uganda, one of those hardest hit by HIV/AIDS in the country, were randomly assigned to control (n = 148) or treatment (n = 138) conditions. Children in the treatment condition received a comprehensive microfinance intervention comprising matched savings accounts, financial management workshops, and mentorship. This was in addition to traditional services provided for all school-going orphaned adolescents (counseling and school supplies). Data were collected at wave 1 (baseline), wave 2 (10 months after intervention), and wave 3 (20 months after intervention). We used multilevel growth models to examine the trajectory of depression in treatment and control conditions, measured using Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs).Results: Children in the treatment group exhibited a significant decrease in depression, whereas their control group counterparts showed no change in depression.Conclusions: The findings indicate that over and above traditional psychosocial approaches used to address mental health functioning among orphaned children in sub-Saharan Africa, incorporating poverty alleviation-focused approaches, such as this comprehensive microfinance intervention, has the potential to improve psychosocial functioning of these children. (C) 2012 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. All rights reserved.