HIV stress in primary school teachers in Zambia

Abstract

A study was made of stress factors experienced by primary school teachers in Zambia after they had attended a course on stress management and counselling skills. Their pupils were significantly affected by poverty, death and illness of parents, fellow-pupils and teachers, teenage sex and pregnancy, violence in the home and, among girls, low self-esteem. The HIV epidemic had a major bearing on these factors, and there were wide-ranging effects on the teachers' own lives. Despite the training they had been given, many teachers felt that they could not adequately counsel their pupils on these matters. The teachers were in need of continuing support and training to enable them to cope with this aspect of their work.

PIP: 20-35% of women attending urban antenatal clinics in Zambia are infected with HIV, while studies conducted on saliva samples in Lusaka and Kapiri Mposhi District have shown that 20-50% of men and women aged 25-35 years are HIV-positive. Only 56% of children aged 7-13 years attend school, less than 30% continue on to secondary school, and at least 1 orphan is cared for in 37% of households. The authors investigated the extent to which these and other factors are responsible for stress among primary school teachers. 2 teachers from each of the 16 schools in Lusaka participated in a 2-week-long stress management and counseling course. 6-8 months later, 19 of the teachers were interviewed for 1-2 hours each. Two-thirds of the teachers interviewed were women, mostly aged 30-40 years. Average class sizes in the schools were 40-49 students. Teachers' students were strongly affected by poverty, death, and the illness of parents, other students, and teachers, as well as by teenage sex and pregnancy, domestic violence, and low self-esteem among the girls. The HIV epidemic was strongly related to these stress-causing concerns. Despite the training they had received, many teachers felt that they could not adequately counsel their students on these issues. The teachers need ongoing support and training to enable them to cope with such stress.