Narrative Care of a Minor Patient With HIV Infection and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Due to Sexual Abuse

To explore the effect of narrative nursing on a minor patient with HIV infection and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to sexual abuse.

An underage female patient with HIV infection and PTSD due to sexual abuse was treated at the Department of Infection of a tertiary hospital. The five core narrative nursing techniques were used to give the patient affirmation, companionship, and support throughout the entire intervention cycle, with a mindset of acceptance and empathy, patient listening, and skillful communication. The effect of the intervention was evaluated by the PTSD Checklist-Civilian Version (PCL-L) and the Self-Depression Scale (SDS).

After the 1-month narrative nursing intervention, the patient's PCL-L score decreased from 65 to 25 and her SDS score decreased from 55 to 33. The patient's psychological condition significantly improved, her self-identity improved, and she took the initiative to socialize with others.

Narrative nursing can alleviate patients' spiritual wounds through in-depth nurse‒patient communication, enable patients to form a new self-identity, and tap their own energy and resources to combat negative emotions caused by the disease.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-025-00736-8.