TRANSITION, HIV DISEASE, AND THE PARTNER RELATIONSHIP

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DESCRIPTION: It is conservatively estimated that the suicide rate for individuals infected with HIV disease is 7 to 20 times greater than that of the general population. The illness is most often associated with uncertainty, unpredictable and debilitating symptoms, social stigma, and financial deprivation. The purpose of the proposed research will be to conduct a randomized clinical trial to test a brief intervention of 4 sessions, 2 hours each, designed to strengthen the relationship of a PWA and a significant other, thereby decreasing the emotional distress (specifically depression, anxiety, anger, and guilt) that both individuals within the dyad are experiencing. The focus of the intervention will be stress management utilizing an educational/informational approach. An experimental design that includes 100 PWA dyads randomly assigned to the control or experimental groups will be used. This intervention is designed so that it will be feasible to incorporate it within the routine health care for this population. Therefore, an important aspect of the project will be to develop a manual for clinicians (i.e., nurse, social worker) that describes the intervention in sufficient detail that it can readily be replicated. An assessment scale designed by the research team will be tested and refined as part of the study, and then included with the manual to aid clinicians' evaluation of the coping skills of this target population. This study will be carried out by a multidisciplinary team comprised of nursing, social work, medicine, and psychiatry.