A telephone-delivered coping improvement group intervention for middle-aged and older adults living with HIV/AIDS.
BACKGROUND
By 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that 50% of all cases of HIV/AIDS in the United States will be in persons 50 years of age or older.


OBJECTIVE
This pilot research tested whether a 12-session, coping improvement group intervention delivered via teleconference technology could improve life quality in 90 middle-age and older adults living with HIV/AIDS.


METHODS
This research used a lagged-treatment control group design. Forty-four HIV-infected persons 50-plus years of age participated in a coping improvement group intervention immediately after study enrollment, whereas 46 individuals received the intervention after their time-matched immediate treatment participants completed the intervention. Participants completed self-administered surveys that assessed depressive and psychological symptoms, life-stressor burden, ways of coping, coping self-efficacy, and loneliness.


RESULTS
Outcome analyses indicated that, compared to their delayed treatment counterparts, immediate treatment participants reported fewer psychological symptoms, lower levels of life-stressor burden, increased coping self-efficacy, and less frequent use of avoidance coping. After receiving the intervention, delayed treatment participants reported greater coping self-efficacy and less psychological symptomatology, life-stressor burden, and loneliness. However, the intervention demonstrated little ability to reduce depressive symptoms in this sample of HIV-infected older adults diagnosed with depression.


CONCLUSIONS
Although findings from this research suggest that telephone-delivered, coping improvement group interventions have potential to facilitate the adjustment efforts of HIV-infected older adults, more rigorous evaluations of this intervention modality for this group are needed.
Heckman
Timothy G
TG
Department of Psychology, Ohio University, Athens 45701, USA. heckmant@ohiou.edu
Barcikowski
Robert
R
Ogles
Benjamin
B
Suhr
Julie
J
Carlson
Bruce
B
Holroyd
Kenneth
K
Garske
John
J
D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000523:psychology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000368:Aged; D017281:Cost of Illness; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011615:Psychotherapy, Group / Q000379:methods*; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012917:Social Adjustment; D012932:Social Facilitation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone