Although self-care is a central concept in health care is known about the daily practices of self-care, particularly when individuals are coping with a chronic, life-threatening illness.(Dodd, 1988). HIV disease/AIDS is a chronic life-threatening illness that is occurring in epidemic proportions in the United States. Understanding self-care practices of individuals and their supportive others across the spectrum of HIV disease will strengthen nursing efforts. The research purpose of this proposed project is to broaden the understanding of the trajectory of self-care among people at four different levels of HIV disease; At Risk, Mild, Moderate and Severe.
The specific aims of the research component of this project are to: (1) describe the experience of self-care for each of four groups of men and their supportive others (At Risk, Mild, Moderate, and Severe); (2) Compare the self-care experiences of each of the four groups of men with one another; (3) describe the experience of self-care of a group of women with HIV disease, and their supportive others; (4) compare the self-care experience of women with HIV with the trajectory of self-care developed from men with HIV disease; (S) describe the overall trajectory of self-care; (6) describe self-care management of symptom distress, using fatigue as a prototype; (7) develop theoretically based nursing interventions that support self-care in HIV. The overall purpose of the training component of this project is to augment the investigator's development as an independent researcher and scholar.
The specific aims of the training component of this project are to: (1) expand the investigator's knowledge of research methods and computer application for data analysis; (2) examine knowledge of fatigue and its assessment and management; (3) examine current knowledge of self-care and nursing for persons with HIV disease; (4) refine the instrument, Self-Care Activities Report Scale, and establish its psychometric properties; (5) pilottest theory based interventions for enhancing self-care practices in HIV disease. To achieve these aims the investigator will work with well known experts in the area of HIV disease, self-care, qualitative research methods and analysis, research design and methods, symptom distress and fatigue, instrumentation, and clinical research.
