The qualitative study focused on parents' perspectives on the sexual and reproductive health of their internationally adopted child living with HIV.
Watts/Thompson Professor and Chair of the Department of Public Health Studies Cindy Fair and Public Health Studies alumna Johanna Crump ’21 have published a qualitative study examining parent perspectives of internationally adopted children with HIV (IACH).
Published in AIDS Care, the qualitative analysis investigates how parents of IACH help their child navigate sexuality and dating in adolescence and young adulthood. Study co-authors include Fair, Sarah Alger ’17, Rosemary Olivero of Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, M.D., Claudia Crowell of Ludwig-Maximilians University Munich in Germany, M.D., and Yaphet Bryant, Ph.D.
Crump and Fair utilized standard qualitative methods to code and analyze interviews with 44 parents for the published project titled “Parent perspectives on sexual and reproductive health with internationally adopted youth living with HIV.” Parents were asked about potential challenges that may occur as their child matures and their experiences revealed four primary themes: concerns about sex and dating were universal; some parents had not discussed sex with their child due to age/level of maturity; others had discussed sex with their child and approached “the talk” through one or multiple lenses (faith/Christian principles and/or the importance of comprehensive sex education/openness); and although nervous about sex/dating, all parents emphasized HIV is a manageable illness and expressed optimism for the future.
This was Crump’s first hands-on experience with qualitative research, which ultimately inspired and led her to pursue full-time research opportunities following graduation, specifically within sexual and reproductive health and HIV. Today, she works at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in the Division of Global Women’s Health supporting a variety of projects related to improving maternal and newborn health outcomes in Lusaka, Zambia.