IN BRIEF


RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION Younger generations are widely viewed to have been relatively disadvantaged by economic and demographic changes over the last 30 years, and now find it harder to finance their education, buy a house, and save for retirement than their parents did. New research will explore how generational wellbeing has changed over this period and help policymakers assess the inter- generational effect of different policy initiatives going forward. ESRC grant number ES/P000142/1


CHINA’S ECONOMY One of the most important macroeconomic developments in coming decades will be China’s rapid financial integration into the world economy. At the same time, the ramifications on the Chinese economy – the world’s second largest – are still largely unknown. Researchers aim to study the impact of its financial liberalisation for both China and for the rest of the world. ESRC grant number ES/P004253/1


UNIVERSITY ADMISSION How fair are university admissions decisions? Researchers will explore whether university applicants are equally likely to be offered university places if they are equally well- qualified, and investigate whether different aspects of prior attainment explain why university applicants from lower social class backgrounds and ethnic minority groups are less likely to be offered places than their middle class and white peers.


ESRC grant number ES/P002579/1


HIV study highlights difficulties for teens


TEENAGERS FACE A range of challenges in adhering to their HIV treatment, suggests a new study of adolescent HIV treatment care in Uganda. “Adhering to HIV treatment is critical to determining long-term health outcomes, yet presents specific challenges for young people,” says researcher Professor Tim Rhodes. Problems with sticking to a daily medication regime are not a question of knowledge, researchers found. All interviewees knew how and when to take their drugs. Instead, for both children and teenagers, treatment- taking generally depended on their relationships with others. “Participants found it generally easier to adhere if parents or carers could help them remember to take their medication, support them when they had difficulties taking pills and/or were taking antiretroviral therapy themselves,” says co-researcher Dr Sarah Bernays. “Non-adherence was partly to do


with forgetting doses and being too busy, but also with more complicated social reasons, including fear of being seen taking medicines and of others deducing their HIV status; a lack of privacy to store or take their pills; and frustration about how they were told to take their medication,” she says. Young people also faced similar adherence challenges to those reported by adults such as seeing pills as an unwelcome reminder of their HIV and struggling with side-effects including dizziness, fatigue and lack


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of concentration. Many young people tackled these side-effects on their own by, for example, taking treatment breaks, but without seeking advice from clinicians about these coping strategies. Children and teenagers, researchers discovered, often learnt not to disclose missed doses for fear of being scolded or of damaging their own reputation as ‘good’ patients. Conversely, young people really appreciated acknowledgement from those supporting them that taking treatment everyday without fail was not easy. While knowledge of the need to take HIV treatment was high, understanding of HIV, how they acquired it or its impact on their future was frequently not. Young people were often instructed (both in the clinic and at home) to keep their HIV status secret but once they began having sexual relationships they were berated for non-disclosure. “We need to help young people be


honest about their adherence problems and support them as they move from adolescence into adulthood,” says Dr Bernays. “Talking openly with young people about how to manage these risk periods of change and transition is key to equipping them for a lifetime of treatment-taking and management of their HIV.” n


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Contact Professor Tim Rhodes, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine Email tim.rhodes@lshtm.ac.uk Telephone 020 7927 2017 ESRC Grant Number ES/1004785/1


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