AEGiS-11IAC: Caregiving and children in the lives of current and former injection drug users.

11th International AIDS Conference

Vancouver, British Columbia — July 7-12, 1996

Caregiving and children in the lives of current and former injection drug users.

Int Conf AIDS 1996 Jul 7-12; 11:482 (abstract no. Pub.D.1290)
Knowlton AR; Baltimore, MD, USA. Fax: (410) 955-9088. E-mail: aknowto@phnet.sph.jhu.edu.

OBJECTIVES: The SAIL (Social Affiliates in Injectors Lives) study examines the processes of change in PWHAs' support and caregiving in the course of HIV disease progression.

METHODS: Subjects are recruited from the ALIVE study who have a history of injection drug use are interview biannually.

RESULTS: Of the participants 503 (56%) reported currently use of drugs; 36% were HIV +, 62% male, 95% African American. Caregiving: 58.6% reported knowing a sick PWHA. Of these, 80% reported providing support to PWHA(s); 26% reported caring for family PWHAs, 67% for non-family PWHAs. 74% of those caring for non-family PWHAs were not caring for family PWHAs; 33% of those caring for family PWAs were not caring for non-family PWHAs. Caring for family PWHA was negatively correlated with caring for non-family PWA. Caring for non-family PWHAs was positively correlated with HIV status. Participants reported giving the following types of support/care: 70% talked to, 40% visited at home, 32% provided personal care, 28% visited in the hospital, 17% provided transportation, 16% helped financially, 13% called the PWAs' friends and family to tell them s/he was sick, and 10% said they helped access social services. Caregiving to non-family PWHAs was primarily limited to talking to PWAs (52%), visiting at home (17%), and visiting in the hospital (9%). Caregiving to family involved a wider range of types of care: talked to PWHA (24%), visited at home (13%), visited in the hospital (12%), personal care (11%), and called others to tell them the PWHA is sick (10%). Women were more likely than men to help with personal care (x2=4.7, p=.02), and visit at home (x2= 7.6, p is less than .01). Women caring for nonfamily reported more depressive symptoms, as measured by the CES-D, than women either caring for no one or for family (F=(3,458)=8.36, p is less than .01). Women caring for family and non-family reported the highest number of depressive symptoms. Children: 75% of the women and 66% of the men reported dependent children; 41% of the women and 10% of the men reported custody of children, 15% of the current drug users and 24% of the former drug users lived with their children. On level of depression there was a marginally significant (p=.06) interaction between custody and HIV serostatus.

CONCLUSION: These data suggestion that PWHAs and those at risk of HIV infection have high levels of caregiver burden.

Keywords: AEGIS, Caregivers, Family, Empathy, HIV Infections, Interpersonal Relations, Interviews, Injections, Emotions, Child, Human, Female, Male, ICA11

960707
PubD1290