The use of home-based computers to support persons living with AIDS/ARC

Care of the patient at home challenges nurses with both the quantity and diversity of services required. New technologies such as computer networks may provide mechanisms to relieve the burden on traditional services, while opening new ways to meet the unique needs of home-based patients in a timely and effective manner. Capitalizing on an existing, free, public-access computer network, we developed the ComputerLink, a computer network designed to provide home-care support to persons living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex (ARC) in the community. In the pilot study presented here, we demonstrate the feasibility of using home-based computer networks to provide information, communication, and decision assistance to persons living with AIDS (PLWA). The success experienced with this particular group of patients provides sufficient encouragement to further test this intervention with PLWAs and to extent this nursing intervention to other groups of community-based patients.