Problems in the interface between the medical treating system and the patient/family system.
Int Conf AIDS 1989 Jun 4-9; 5:931 (abstract no. 771) Patten J; The Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy, New York, New York, USA
Many medical management problems occur in AIDS patients because of poor relationships between patient/family and the medical system (doctors, social workers, nurses, administrators, etc.). The Ackerman AIDS Project, by using psychotherapeutic and educational techniques with many individuals, couples, and families and members of the medical systems, has been able to show improvement in these relationships. For instance, many individuals, families, and health care workers believe the equation AIDS-DEATH. This is in spite of AIDS being seen by the writers and by many members of the medical community as behaving more like a chronic illness. When patients' and families' percepts of AIDS have been psychotherapeutically shifted from FATAL to CHRONIC, they feel and act more hopeful, they are likely to be more compliant to treatment protocols and to take better care of themselves. Normal activities of living can be resumed once the illness is seen in a different perspective. Patients and families often feel empowered to ask more questions of the medical treating system and to be less passive about their illness. To create a shift in perception, we must place emphasis on basic information and education about AIDS. Ignorance and misinformation abound, the stigma, anxiety, isolation, and guilt that surround AIDS make education about everything from testing to treatment essential. It is a time-consuming, repetitive process which requires a high degree of expertise.
Keywords: AEGIS, Family, Family Relations, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Social Work, Chronic Disease, Professional-Family Relations, Family Therapy, Residence Characteristics, Interviews, Human, ICA5
