Children's Hospital AIDS Program
Who we are
For children, teens and parents with HIV infection or AIDS, the diagnosis can feel overwhelming. At the Children's Hospital AIDS Program (CHAP), we are here to help you, from testing through treatment. We offer comprehensive care for infants, children and adolescents with, or at risk for, HIV infection or AIDS.
Our services
Our services include counseling, testing, diagnosis, treatment, education, mental health services, case management and referrals. During the past two decades, our multidisciplinary team has helped CHAP become an international leader in HIV and AIDS care and clinical research. Research pioneered by our team and others, as well as the success of anti-viral drugs, has transformed the disease from a death sentence to a manageable condition. Today, few children in the United States die of AIDS, and the transmission rate from mother to child is 1 percent.
Our experience
As New England's largest clinic of this type, we treat approximately 130 children, teens and their families each year. A major goal of our program is to strengthen community care by consulting with your child's pediatrician or primary health care provider:
- HIV counseling and testing
- clinical care and case management
- outreach and MassCARE Program assistance
- education
- mental health services
- clinical drug and vaccine trials
- adolescent HIV services.
Our expertise
At CHAP, our researchers are studying once-a-day and combination therapies with the goal of simplifying treatment. We're also working to determine the impact of combining strong anti-viral therapy with medications to treat depression or a co-infection, such as tuberculosis, to make sure drugs continue to be effective when combined. Additionally, we're studying how teen peer groups can encourage adolescents to follow their medication regimen. Internationally, our research focuses on preventing transmission, designing pediatric anti-viral treatments, vaccine testing and preventing tuberculosis in children with HIV.
Program exists for homeless and at-risk kids
The Boston HAPPENS (HIV Adolescent Provider & Peer Education Network for Services) Program at Boston Children's Hospital provides services and support to HIV infected, homeless and at-risk adolescents and young adults, 12 to 24 years old, in the Metropolitan Boston area.
Program offers free, confidential testing and counseling
Project Protection at the Martha Eliot Health Center provides pre- and post- HIV testing and counseling. These services are free and confidential and are offered by walk-in or appointment. We also provide HIV, STI and hepatitis prevention education.
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