BACKGROUND: Self-care is one of the challenges that people with HIV/AIDS face in the long-term symptom management of the disease. OBJECTIVE: To identify the category schemes of self-care strategies and sources of information for symptom management reported by HIV-positive individuals. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted in a large dataset of an HIV/AIDS symptom management study. Narrative data of symptom self-care management strategies and sources of information for symptom management were analyzed by a content analysis technique to identify category schemes. The 359 participants in the study reported 776 symptom self-care strategies and 526 sources of information for these strategies. RESULTS: The symptom self-care management strategies were summarized into eight categories: medications (23.45%), self-comforting (15.21%), complementary treatments (14.69%), daily thoughts and activities (12.89%), diet changing (10.95%), help seeking (9.28%), spiritual care (6.83%), and exercise (6.70%). There were four categories of information sources: self (34.41%), healthcare provider (27.95%), personal network (19.20%), and community (18.44%). The category schemes had moderate to high interrater reliability (Cohen's kappa:.49-1.00 for self-care strategy and .70-.87 for source of information). Most of the self-care strategies were perceived as helpful. Except for complementary treatments, self-care strategies were used differently among people with the six most frequently occurring symptoms (chi2 [5, n = 286] = 28.53-79.89). DISCUSSION: The eight categories of self-care strategies identified in this study showed that people with HIV/AIDS not only seek the help of medications, but also follow a wide array of other self-developed or self-taught nonpharmaceutical strategies to allay their symptoms.
BACKGROUND: Self-care is one of the challenges that people with HIV/AIDS face in the long-term symptom management of the disease. OBJECTIVE: To identify the category schemes of self-care strategies and sources of information for symptom management reported by HIV-positive individuals. METHODS: A secondary analysis was conducted in a large dataset of an HIV/AIDS symptom management study. Narrative data of symptom self-care management strategies and sources of information for symptom management were analyzed by a content analysis technique to identify category schemes. The 359 participants in the study reported 776 symptom self-care strategies and 526 sources of information for these strategies. RESULTS: The symptom self-care management strategies were summarized into eight categories: medications (23.45%), self-comforting (15.21%), complementary treatments (14.69%), daily thoughts and activities (12.89%), diet changing (10.95%), help seeking (9.28%), spiritual care (6.83%), and exercise (6.70%). There were four categories of information sources: self (34.41%), healthcare provider (27.95%), personal network (19.20%), and community (18.44%). The category schemes had moderate to high interrater reliability (Cohen's kappa:.49-1.00 for self-care strategy and .70-.87 for source of information). Most of the self-care strategies were perceived as helpful. Except for complementary treatments, self-care strategies were used differently among people with the six most frequently occurring symptoms (chi2 [5, n = 286] = 28.53-79.89). DISCUSSION: The eight categories of self-care strategies identified in this study showed that people with HIV/AIDS not only seek the help of medications, but also follow a wide array of other self-developed or self-taught nonpharmaceutical strategies to allay their symptoms.
Authors: Christine Horvat Davey; Joseph D Perazzo; Marianne Vest; Richard A Josephson; Vitor H F Oliveira; Abdus Sattar; Allison R Webel Journal: AIDS Care Date: 2019-08-30
Authors: Judith B Cornelius; Michael G Cato; Jennifer L Toth; Philip M Bard; Michael W Moore; Ann White Journal: J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care Date: 2011-05-07 Impact factor: 1.354
Authors: N R Reynolds; L Sanzero Eller; P K Nicholas; I B Corless; K Kirksey; M J Hamilton; J K Kemppainen; E Bunch; P Dole; D Wantland; E Sefcik; K M Nokes; C L Coleman; M Rivero; G E Canaval; Y F Tsai; W L Holzemer Journal: AIDS Behav Date: 2007-08-18