AEGiS-13IAC: Humour - An overlooked phenomena in HIV/AIDS family care giving.

13th International AIDS Conference

Durban, South Africa - July 9-July 14, 2000

Humour - An overlooked phenomena in HIV/AIDS family care giving.

Int Conf AIDS 2000 Jul 9-14; 13:(abstract no. ThOrD691)

Bischofberger I
I. Bischofberger, Institut of Nursing Science, University Street 25, D-33615 Bielefeld, Germany, Tel.: +49 521 106 48 14, Fax: +49 521 106 64 37, E-mail: irenbischofberger@csi.com

Humour has been discussed as a concept and an intervention strategy in health care professions such as psychotherapy, psychology, nursing, and other disciplines. However, in the HIV and AIDS family care literature, the phenomena of humour is almost non existent. Although positive appraisals for family members during care giving and bereavement have been observed more frequently in recent studies, humour has hardly been explicitly mentioned as a phenomena.

OBJECTIVE: To conceptualise the phenomena of humour in the context of HIV/AIDS family care giving.

METHOD: To conduct multi-cited explorative interviews with HIV/AIDS family care givers, using a grounded theory approach for data analysis

RESULTS: Despite the variety and quantity of burdensome feelings, the results provide evidence that humour is commonly expressed by HIV/AIDS family care givers. The data analysis identifies different styles and concepts of humour: macabre humour, humour as a relieve strategy, humour as reciprocity, and humour as distancing from hazardous feelings. It is important to note, that humour was not expressed by telling jokes or by belly laughs, but rather by genuine and contextual benevolent humorous remarks on the relationship between family care givers and the HIV-positive family member.

CONCLUSION: The humour categories provide a glimmer on the complexity and creativity of coping strategies of family care givers. In addition, the results are not only interpreted as a way of coping but also as an opportunity to shape the personality. Humour promotes the courage to be ridiculous, to be absurd and to be imperfect. The discovery of humour in this study should remind health care professionals to consider different possibilities of support provided for family care givers. Breaking the silence on the phenomena of humour in HIV/AIDS family care giving provides the opportunity to uncover personality traits and coping strategies which have the potential to make a difference in the care givers' perception of long-term relationships.

Keywords: AEGIS, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, HIV Infections, Family, Wit and Humor, HIV Seropositivity, Caregivers, Bereavement, Adaptation, Psychological, Professional-Family Relations, Health Personnel
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