Living with HIV/AIDS: the voices of HIV-positive mothers

The study reported here was undertaken to investigate the experiences of HIV-positive mothers with the system of services designed to help them, how they cope with the infection, particularly as it relates to parenting, and their concerns, preferences and plans for the future care of their children. A focus group method was selected because it is well suited for this type of exploratory research. A total of 40 HIV-positive mothers participated in six different focus groups. The issues that emerged from the data analysis revealed that, using systems theory, they could be logically classified by the type or level of system in which the issue was primarily located. The three system levels were (1) individual and family, (2) organizations and providers, (3) policy and community. Within each of these categories, issues could be further delineated by whether they provided women with resources or presented them with additional stress. Conclusions and recommendations for providers are made based on the systems framework that gave structure to the results.