The love and belonging healthcare needs of HIV infected African-American men upon admission to an AIDS dedicated nursing home.
The purpose of this study was to describe the love and belonging healthcare needs of HIV infected African-American men upon admission to an AIDS dedicated nursing home. Subjects were 73 (N=73) African-American men 26 to 60 years of age that were admitted to an AIDS dedicated nursing home in the Southern New England area between 1995 and 1999. Most of the men were single (n = 39) and estranged from their immediate families. Many of these men did not have a family member supportive of discharge (n = 60) and did not desire discharge back out into the community (n = 40). A significant number of these men reported having children (n = 40). It has been noted that unmet love and belonging needs lead to a sense of loneliness and isolation. Therefore, it is imperative that nurses strive to attend to these psychosocial needs in the same manner as they do the physical needs of clients entrusted to their care. The African-American men in this study found a sense of family in the AIDS dedicated nursing home making it potentially a valuable source of needed social support.
Fields
Sheldon D
SD
University of Rochester-School of Nursing, Rochester, New York, USA. Sheldon_Fields@URMC.Rochester.edu
Jemmott
Loretta Sweet
LS
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000451:nursing*; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology*; D004645:Empathy; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008132:Loneliness; D008149:Love; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009511:New England; D009735:Nursing Homes / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012944:Social Support