Fair co-authors chapter in new edition of Hospice Care for Children

Cynthia Fair, an associate professor and chair of the Department of Human Services, has co-authored a chapter for a book on the provision of care to children with life threatening illnesses.

“Care for the Child with HIV infection and AIDS” in Hospice Care for Children, 3rd Edition, was written in cooperation with three additional researchers, including Lori Wiener, director of the Psychosocial Support and Research Program within the National Cancer Institute-Pediatric Oncology Branch. Wiener, a former co-worker of Fair’s, is the mother of two Elon University students.

The chapter examined the challenges posed to hospice care providers who work with HIV-infected children in both developed and developing countries. Many families that care for a child with AIDS must contend with several stressors: poverty, stigma and more than one ill family member.

Despite advances in the treatment of HIV, children infected with HIV still die prematurely. This chapter emphasizes the importance of attending to the dignity of both the life and death of HIV-infected children.

Tagged: Human Services