Perceived support in newly registered HIV/AIDS clinic outpatients

This study compares levels of perceived social support in newly registered outpatients attending an HIV/AIDS clinic to those reported in a reference sample of other ambulatory medical populations. Perceived availability of four types of functional support is assessed: tangible, affectionate, positive social interaction and emotional-informational. Other elements of patients' support networks that might be associated with perceived support are also examined. In general, functional support levels in the outpatient PHA population were found to be similar to those of the MOS-SSS reference sample. Patient factors including age, gender, family awareness of HIV/AIDS diagnosis, time elapsed since diagnosis, employment status, physical health indicators, antiretroviral treatment history and support network size showed no relationship to functional support. Network composition factors significantly associated with higher social support ratings included the presence of a partner (all dimensions of functional support) and a greater proportion of close friends as opposed to close family members (emotional-informational support). Requesters of clinic support services tended to exhibit lower emotional-informational support scores compared to non-requesters. Implications for the provision of support services to people living with HIV/AIDS are discussed.