Self-management health education for chronic HIV infection

This paper describes the design and implementation, and presents qualitative data on the Positive Self-Management Program (PSMP), a group health education programme to help patients actively participate in their HIV/AIDS disease and symptom management. PSMP design was guided by the needs and concerns of HIV patients and their caregivers, and by social cognitive theory. Programme participants meet weekly in interactive health education groups for seven sessions, and complete a structured curriculum that teaches self-management skills and information to patients: symptom assessment and management, medication use, physical exercise, relaxation, doctor-patient communication and nutrition. Each group was led by two trained peer-leaders (one HIV-positive). Structured, open-ended telephone interviews were conducted with a sample of PSMP participants during evaluation of the programme. Responses to PSMP were favourable, emphasizing the importance of the contracting process, group social support and the PSMP resource book provided. Subjects also described variation in HIV knowledge and experience among group participants, and emphasized the importance of changes in health-related attitudes and behaviours as a result of PSMP education. These results suggest that a self-management approach to HIV patient education is feasible and accepted, and could become a useful health education technique in patients with chronic HIV infection.