A qualitative description of women's HIV self-management techniques: context, strategies, and considerations

Women living with HIV face unique challenges managing their disease. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to describe self-management techniques reported by 48 women living with HIV in the United States. Participants were involved in one 90-minute, digitally recorded focus group exploring aspects of HIV self-management strategies. Descriptive statistics, qualitative description, and content analysis were used to analyze the data. Participants had been living with HIV for an average of 12 years, and most (69%) were engaged in routine HIV care (85%) and were currently receiving antiretroviral therapy. Participants reported using self-management techniques: taking personal time (n = 23; 48%), advocacy (n = 12; 25%), sleeping (n = 17, 35%), attending support groups (n = 10; 21%), and attending medical appointments (n = 8; 17%). Nurses can add strategies to enhance HIV self-management to routine clinical care, which may have a positive impact on the health of women living with HIV.