How people with HIV/AIDS manage and assess their use of complementary therapies: a qualitative analysis

The objective of this article is to provide a qualitative analysis of the practical concerns that people with HIV/AIDS have with regard to their use of complementary therapies. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted with a diverse range of people with HIV/AIDS (N = 46). An inductive grounded approach was used to collect and analyze the data. There were five central concerns: (a) selecting which therapies to use, (b) judging which therapies work, (c) combining Western medicine with complementary therapies, (d) assessing the safety of complementary therapies, and (e) dealing with the barriers to the use of complementary therapies. A better understanding of the practical dimensions of complementary therapy use highlights the treatment and care issues that people with HIV/AIDS face and offers insights into the role that nurses might play in addressing some of these issues.