Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
U.S. flag
An official website of the United States government
Veterans Benefits and Health Care About VA Find a VA Location

VA Health Systems Research

Go to the VA ORD website
Go to the QUERI website

HSR&D Citation Abstract

Search | Search by Center | Search by Source | Keywords in Title

Coping and burden among informal HIV caregivers.

Engler P, Anderson B, Herman D, Bishop D, Miller I, Pirraglia P, Hayaki J, Stein M. Coping and burden among informal HIV caregivers. Psychosomatic medicine. 2006 Nov 1; 68(6):985-92.

Dimensions for VA is a web-based tool available to VA staff that enables detailed searches of published research and research projects.

If you have VA-Intranet access, click here for more information vaww.hsrd.research.va.gov/dimensions/

VA staff not currently on the VA network can access Dimensions by registering for an account using their VA email address.    Search Dimensions for VA for this citation
* Don't have VA-internal network access or a VA email address? Try searching the free-to-the-public version of Dimensions


Abstract:

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the role of coping on caregiver burden among a heterogeneous group of caregivers of persons living with HIV during the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy. METHODS: Burden and coping were examined among 176 caregivers of persons living with HIV. Three styles of coping were examined using a 7-item scale: active-approach (task), blame-withdrawal (emotion), and distancing (avoidance). RESULTS: A total of 58.8% of the caregivers were women. They had a mean age of 42 years; 61.9% cohabited with the persons living with HIV who had a mean CD4 count of 401. All three styles of coping were significantly positively correlated with caregiver burden. After controlling for demographic variables and caregiver depression, active-approach coping and distancing coping independently moderated the relationship between perceived severity of HIV-related symptoms (stress) and caregiver burden; however, some caregivers experienced burden even at low levels of stress. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that in the era of highly active antiretroviral therapy, coping mitigates the effect of stress on burden.




Questions about the HSR website? Email the Web Team

Any health information on this website is strictly for informational purposes and is not intended as medical advice. It should not be used to diagnose or treat any condition.