Caring for a family member with HIV/AIDS presents multiple challenges that strain a family's physical, economic and emotional resources. Family caregivers provide physical care and financial support and deal with changes in family relationships and roles, often with little support from outside of the family. Caregivers in developing countries face even greater challenges, due to lack of medical and support services, poverty, and widespread discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. Little is known about how family caregivers cope with these challenges or about the ways that development impacts on the process of coping. A study conducted by Palattiyl and Chakrabarti explored coping strategies used by family care givers in two contexts, Kerala, India and Scotland, UK. As part of a larger study, 28 family caregivers of persons living with HIV/AIDS were interviewed in Kerala and Scotland. A modified version of the Ways of Coping (WOC) scale was used to assess coping strategies. Responses were compared on the total number of coping responses used as well as on selected subscales of the WOC. The two groups differed significantly in terms of the coping strategies used. The care givers from Scotland used a larger number of different coping strategies and scored higher on measures of problem focused coping, positive reappraisal, seeking social support, self-controlling, and distancing/detachment. Respondents from Kerala scored higher on a measure of self-blame.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A HEALTH CARE PROVIDER: The authors discussed the results in terms of the impact of community resources on coping strategies. The caregivers of HIV/AIDS patients in Scotland used a wider variety of coping strategies than those in India. There is no reason, however, that many of these could not be adapted for use in emerging world countries is investigators wished to do so. Successful management of HIV/AIDS by patients and their caregivers could reduce the amount of blame that accompanies the disease.

WHAT THE STUDY MAY MEAN TO YOU AS A PATIENT: The study suggests that if you are a patient with HIV/AIDS, you and your caregiver should consider whatever coping strategies you think would help both of you control what is increasingly becoming a chronic condition. Success at using self-management skills, for example, could result in better control of your disease. This, in turn, should increase self-efficacy of both you and your caregiver that you can maintain the management of your condition.

G Palattiyil, M Chakrabarti. Coping strategies of families in HIV/AIDS care: some exploratory data from two developmental contexts. AIDS Care, 2008;5:1-5.