People living with HIV form a unique population. This population is unique due to their varied needs and the issues that they go through in the society. HIV infected people are often stigmatized due to their condition and this has a significant impact on their psychological wellbeing (Mohraz et al., 2015). This group of people also has to depend on lifelong ART therapy and thus they have to visit health care centers regularly to obtain their supplies. Another defining feature of HIV people is that they have increased rates of hospitalization due to the many opportunistic infections that they suffer from (Mohraz et al., 2015). They thus require a lot of financial and social support from their families, friends, well-wishers as well as the government.
The top three needs that people living with HIV have to contend with are;
Constant supply of ARVS-people living with HIV have to be on lifelong ART therapy. Without these drugs, the virus would increase its destructive effects on the body leading to increased mortality. Therefore, ART drugs is a top requirement for this population.
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Counselling services-Due to the stigma associated with HIV, a lot of counselling is required for these patients to help them accept their condition which would increase their adherence to treatment. Also, counselling helps to reduce cases of suicide among the HIV infected persons.
The need for social support- HIV patients require a lot of social support from their families, spouses and close friends to enable them to cope with the condition.
In the local society, there are various resource centers that are available to support people living with HIV. The first resource is the local government which ensures that hospitals have adequate supplies of ART therapy. Another resource is the non-governmental organizations which also help with supplies of medicines for the HIV infected people. They also provide donations in terms of foodstuffs and clothing to the people living with HIV. Another resource is community counselling centers that serve the purpose of providing counselling services to people living with HIV. To qualify for these services, one needs to be registered with them and their HIV status known. These organizations target all the people living with HIV from children to adults.
References
Mohraz, M., Dejman, M., Ardakani, H., Malekafzali, B., Moradi, G., Gouya, M., … Seyed Alinaghi, S. (2015). Psychological, social, and familial problems of people living with HIV/AIDS in Iran: A qualitative study. International Journal of Preventive Medicine , 6 (1), 126. doi:10.4103/2008-7802.172540
