AEGiS-06IAC: The role of kin in care giving for persons with AIDS in New Jersey.

6th International AIDS Conference


San Francisco, California, USA — June 20-23, 1990

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The role of kin in care giving for persons with AIDS in New Jersey.

Int Conf AIDS 1990 Jun 20-23; 6:331 (abstract no. Th.D.822)
Schiller NG, Crystal S, Karus D; Institute for Health, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of kin in care giving for persons with AIDS (PWAs) in New Jersey.

METHODS: A random sample of 275 individuals with diagnosed AIDS who live in New Jersey was drawn. Interviewing began 12/88 and 50 interviews have been completed to date. The distribution of transmission categories in the completed interviews was: IVDU 54%; Homosexual/bisexual 28%; Homosexual/bisexual/IVDU 6%; Heterosexual 8%; Transfusions/blood products 4%. The respondents were 72% male and 28% female. The demographic profile of the respondents resembles that of those individuals on the New Jersey Registry of AIDS cases who are not known to have died. An analysis was made of the respondent's living arrangements, sources of assistance in activities of daily living (ADL), and in the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL).

FINDINGS:: Most PWAs lived with someone (72%) and in all but one of these cases, they lived with family. Sixty percent lived with their family of origin, 44% with family of consent and 6% with a joint family. Mothers were the most frequent co-residential relative (41%) and the family member most frequently mentioned giving assistance in ADL and IADL. Females provided significantly more concrete assistance than males. Assistance in daily household chores was often not identified by respondents as "help" until asked about in very specific terms. PWAs of all transmission and racial and ethnic categories received most of their unpaid care from women.

CONCLUSION: Informal care provision for PWAs in New Jersey resembles patterns of community care reported for the elderly and for other chronic diseases with family members, especially women, providing the bulk of the daily care. As with these other populations, family care, and especially care from co-residential female kin, proves to be essential in the ability of the ill or disabled to live in the community.

Keywords: AEGIS, Caregivers, Activities of Daily Living, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Family, Helping Behavior, Disabled Persons, Data Collection, Interpersonal Relations, New Jersey, Human, Female, Male, rehabilitation, ICA6KWDaegis,caregivers,activitiesofdailyliving,acquiredimmunodeficiencysyndrome,family,helpingbehavior,disabledpersons,datacollection,interpersonalrelations,newjersey,human,female,male,rehabilitation,ica6

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ThD822

Copyright © 1990 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.