An exploratory study of quality of life and coping strategies of orphans living in child-headed households in an urban high HIV-prevalent community in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa1

Abstract

A distressing consequence of the HIV/AIDS pandemic and of the increasing numbers of orphans and decreasing numbers of caregivers is the emergence in ever-larger numbers of child-headed households (CHHs). The complexity of issues affecting CHHs and the lack of research on this subject means that CHHs are not well understood. This sometimes prompts support agencies to provide emotionally driven recommendations suggesting that it is better for a child to be in an orphanage than to live in a CHH. This exploratory study, involving heads of 105 CHHs over a 12-month period and 142 participants in various focus group discussions (FGD) and interviews, suggests the need for a change in perspective. It addresses the question of CHH quality of life, coping strategies and household functioning and attempts to bring this into a productive dialogue with community child care activities, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and statutory support and child care and protection policies. Research data suggest that the key determining factor contributing towards the creation of a CHH is ‘pre-parental illness’ family conflict. Another contributing factor is that siblings want to stay together after parental death. Quality of life assessments indicate that, despite significant adversities, over 69% of CHHs reported a ‘medium’ to ‘satisfactory’ quality of life and demonstrate high levels of resilience.