WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV AIDS - THE DUAL CHALLENGE OF BEING A PATIENT AND CAREGIVER/

More than 60,000 women in the United States have been diagnosed with A IDS, and millions of women worldwide are infected with HIV. Most of th ese women will die at an early age, leaving their children motherless. During their HN illness, women confront the challenge of being both p atient and family caregiver. Little research has explored this dual ch allenge. The authors conducted semistructured one-hour interviews with HIV-positive women that focused on the impact of the HN diagnosis on the women's lives. Significant factors emerging from the interviews in cluded the impact of stigma associated with HIV/AIDS, disbelief of the diagnosis, the lack of a guardian for their children, the paucity of women's support groups, and barriers associated with seeking services. All women exhibited evidence of clinical depression. A model for mult idisciplinary intervention is proposed that focuses on women's needs w ithin their family systems.