Table 1 Thematic analysis of children’s stories
From: Children’s representations of school support for HIV-affected peers in rural Zimbabwe
Organising theme | Basic theme | Issues discussed | Freq. |
|---|---|---|---|
Global theme: how challenges of HIV-affected children manifest within the school context | |||
HIV-affected households | Household looks visibly poor | Dirty, lack of basic essentials | 13% |
Positive perception of household | Beautiful household, clean, livestock | 2% | |
HIV-affected parents | AIDS visible through behaviour of parents | Sleeping, unable to work, visibly sick | 6% |
Homes of HIV-affected children | Social neglect in household | Isolated, abused, seen as burdens | 20% |
Social support in household | Child cared for and happy in household | 1% | |
Responsibilities of HIV-affected children | Caregiving | Bathing, administering medicine, feeding | 9% |
Household chores | Fetching water, ploughing fields, cooking | 30% | |
Chores compromise health & well-being of child | Chores carried out by sick child, chores beyond child’s capability, chores hinder socialisation | 27% | |
Child engaged in income generation activities | Agricultural work, work for neighbours | 2% | |
Global theme: how challenges of HIV-affected children manifest within the school context | |||
Impact on school attendance | School drop out/late for school | Due to sick parents/sick child, unable to pay fees, chores | 15% |
Material deprivation | Lack of school equipment | Lack of uniform, books, pens | 14% |
Lack of food | Child comes to school without food | 20% | |
Child looks visibly poor | Torn clothes, Lack of shoes, Dirty | 19% | |
Physical health | Symptoms of poor physical health | Pain, Tired/falling asleep at school, fainting, vomiting | 18% |
Child looks visibly sick | Skinny, cracked lips | 10% | |
Child visits health clinics | Hospital visits | 9% | |
Emotional health | Symptoms of poor emotional health | Cries, sad, miserable | 30% |
Global theme: the impact of schools on children’s coping | |||
School as a negative context for HIV-affected children | Teacher’s negative response to HIV-affected children | Teacher sends child away from school | 2% |
Teacher abuses child | |||
Social exclusion | Bullying, lack of friends/Isolation, stigmatisation | 30% | |
Schools as a source of support for HIV-affected children | Bridges between schools and outside sources of support (total 12%) | Referrals to health clinics | 3% |
References to support from NGOs, CBOs, BEAM | 9% | ||
Teacher support (total 30%) | Material support: school expenses (fees, books), food/water | 24% | |
Emotional support: comfort, encourage inclusion, counselling | 6% | ||
Peer support (total 20%) | Material support: Share school resources (books, pens), clothes, food | 9% | |
Emotional support: Comfort, playing, help with chores | 11% | ||
School as distraction from life tragedies | Learning/playing distraction from problems | 5% | |
Schools as routes to positive identities | Positive perceptions of children | 15% | |