Education status among orphans and non-orphans in communities affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Burkina Faso

• Published in: AIDS care Vol. 20; no. 6; pp. 726 - 732
• Main Authors: Kürzinger, M.L., Pagnier, J., Kahn, J.G., Hampshire, R., Wakabi, T., Dye, T.D.V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.07.2008; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd; Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Subjects: Academic achievement; Acquired immune deficiency syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - epidemiology; Adolescent; AIDS; AIDS/HIV; Biological and medical sciences; Burkina Faso; Burkina Faso - epidemiology; Caregivers - standards; Child; Child Welfare - trends; Child, Orphaned - education; Child, Orphaned - psychology; Child, Orphaned - statistics & numerical data; Children; Community; Comparative analysis; Education; Educational Status; Epidemics; Female; Foster Home Care - statistics & numerical data; Health Status; HIV; HIV-1; HIV/AIDS; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Male; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Models, Statistical; Orphans; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; School attendance; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Social Support; Socioeconomic Factors; Studies; Tanzania; Tanzania - epidemiology; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids; Burkina Faso; Africa; Tanzania; Human; Preschool age; Social environment; Immunopathology; Education level; AIDS; Immune deficiency; Infection; Orphan child; School age; Sociodemographic factor; Viral disease; Cross sectional study; Adolescent; Child; Public health; Life Sciences
• ISSN: 0954-0121; 1360-0451
• DOI: 10.1080/09540120701693958

The AIDS pandemic has created an estimated 15 million orphans who may face elevated risk of poor health and social outcomes. This paper compares orphans and non-orphans regarding educational status and delay using data collected in three low-income communities affected by AIDS in Tanzania and Burkina Faso. Orphans were significantly more likely not to attend school than were non-orphans and also to be delayed when in school, though, after controlling for confounders, the risk was borderline and non-significant. Multivariate analysis indicates that variables such as age, religion, family of origin, the relation between the child and the head of household and the dependency ratio of the household better explain differences in education than does orphan status. This study suggests, therefore, that orphans' educational status is relatively equivalent to non-orphans perhaps as a result of family based or community program safety nets.