Caring for a child with HIV in an Early Childhood Education Centre Guidelines
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Early childhood centres are seldom asked to care for a child with HIV or AIDs. These guidelines support you and your centre to provide love, respect, care and education for a child with HIV or AIDs as well as all other children within a safe environment.
LEGAL POSITION
1. Legal Position
•HIV is not listed by the Ministry of Education as an infectious disease.
•The Human Rights Act 1993 does not allow exclusion of a child because of HIV/AIDS.
•Centres are required to take measures to avoid cross infection.
KEY INFORMATION
2. HIV/AIDS Definition
•HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) acts by weakening a child’s immune system and depleting the supply of white blood cells. This can lead to illness with the child becoming susceptible to secondary infections or complications such as bacterial pneumonia and ear infections.
•AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is caused by the immune system being depleted of its white cells by HIV. This leaves the body less capable of fighting off bacteria and viruses. Pneumocystic-Carinii Pneumonia is a common infection in children with HIV, along with hepatitis and renal disease.
•Go to the Ministry of Health’s website for more information about HIV.
3. HIV/AIDS Transmission
•HIV in children is only known to be transmitted through blood. All centres should have standard regulations about when to use gloves and for stopping the transmission of infectious diseases. Children do not get infected through every day contact such as sneezing, coughing, hugging, kissing or even biting. Infection is only a risk where blood is present.
CONFIDENTIALITY
4. Disclosure
•Parents do not have to inform early childhood centres that their child has HIV. However, enrolment forms should ask for sharing of information about chronic conditions and illnesses. The child’s parents, doctor or public health nurse can provide information about appropriate care.
5. Confidentiality
•Centres’ disclosure of information is controlled by the Privacy Act. Personal information about a child or family should not be communicated in any way to other children, families, or to anyone else without permission.
•The Ministry of Education advises centres to ‘emphasise to parents that medical information is kept private to encourage parents to disclose as much information about their child’s health as possible. If families believe that by providing and not withholding information about a child’s health, they are helping the service to identify needs for staff training and to develop plans for providing the best care at all times, then families will have greater confidence that their child will be supported rather than discriminated against. ‘
ENROLMENT PROCEDURES
6. A parent may not be aware that a child has AIDS just as a centre may employ a staff member who has HIV but may or may not know this.
7. If the parent states that their child has HIV:
•Thank the parents and reassure them that the information they give is confidential.
•Ask if they have a care plan and negotiate the centre’s role in this.
•Ensure parents understand the normal grounds for exclusion and how you manage cross infections.
•Check with the parents if there are any activities their child should avoid.
•Get a local expert such as the AIDs Foundation or a doctor to educate staff about HIV and how it is transmitted to address any fears or misinformation they may have.
HYGIENE STANDARDS
8. Every early childhood centre must have policies and procedures to keep all children safe. These standards are particularly important for a child with HIV because they can have less resistance to infections than other children.
•Check that your policies and procedures are adequate for controlling cross infection. Check them with public health officials or other experts.
•Budget for gloves, disinfectant and other items needed to limit cross infections.
•Train all staff in procedures and regularly monitor practice. Build in frequent reminders.
•Check the Ministry of Education’s guidelines for schools on managing children with HIV to learn how to keep all children safe:
SICK CHILDREN
9. Early childhood centres are required by the early childhood education Regulations to protect all children from cross infection. This is particularly important for the child with HIV as they may have less resistance to infection.
•Check your policies and procedures for managing children at the centre who have any infection.
•Do not allow children with contagious diseases to be in contact with other children. When a child or adult becomes ill at the centre, keep the child at a safe distance from other children and ask the parent or caregiver to collect the child as soon as possible.
•Ensure all parents understand this policy on enrolment.
•Check your medicine policies and procedures. Ensure staff understand them and follow them. Medicines may only be given with the written authority of a parent or caregiver or, in an emergency, by a qualified doctor or ambulance staff.
•HIV children may have no symptoms and be well. If they are sick frequently or for long periods, attendance requirements may need to be more flexible.
