Despite the advent of a new generation of promising drugs, such as protease inhibitors, AIDS continues to be a serious public health problem. As AIDS changes from an acute disease to a chronic illness, it places increased responsibility on personal support systems to provide long-term assistance. To reduce adverse consequences and make living in the community possible, in this application for a FIRST award the Principal Investigator proposes a study to examine the caregiving experiences and needs of both persons with AIDS (PWAs) and their informal caregivers (CGs). The goal of this research is to examine stress and coping processes and the impact informal and formal supports on the psychological well-being of PWAs and CGs. In the proposed 60-month study the researchers will utilize a stress and coping theoretical framework to examine the relationship between background characteristics, stressors, moderators (coping and social support including informal and formal supports) and the psychological well-being of PWAs and CGs. Face-to-face interviews will be conducted with 150 pairs of gay men who have AIDS and their primary informal CGs. In addition, a sample of 25 pairs of women with AIDS and their primary informal caregivers will also be included to explore the feasibility of studying AIDS caregiving among women and to explore the applicability of the model for this group. The primary substantive contributions of the research will be to (1) incorporate the perspectives of both PWAs and CGs to understand stress and coping processes and the nature and impact of caregiving supports; (2) identify factors that are associated with the utilization of informal and formal support systems; (3) explore the relationship between these systems of care and the psychological well-being of PWAs and CGs; and (4) develop information that will contribute significantly to the design of appropriate community-based services supporting informal caregiving.
