Similarly the intervention did not address the many
difficulties faced by caregivers. The majority of mothers
learned their HIV status for the first time when their
sick child was admitted to hospital and tests for HIV,
leading to an assessment of their own health status [26–
28]. Demoralisation and depression are common [29, 30]
in addition to socioeconomic pressures, anxiety about a sick
child, challenges of care for other children left at home,
and the difficulties of getting off work from generally parttime
or insecure jobs to spend time with a young child
in hospital.