ABSTRACT
Current medical thinking supports early initiation of aggressive approaches to the management of perinatally acquired HIV infection. Biological mothers, however, may not endorse this way of managing their child's condition. For this study, grounded theory methods were used to conduct secondary analysis of eight semi-structured in-depth interviews with parents of children with perinatally acquired HIV. Biological mothers' perspectives on their children's treatment for perinatally acquired HIV infection, the strategies they used to manage their children's treatment and sociocultural influences on mothers' beliefs and actions are explored and described. Creation of a framework that may be useful for future research and recommendations for clinical practice are offered.
Subject(s)
Attitude to Health , HIV Infections/drug therapy , Infectious Disease Transmission, Vertical , Mother-Child Relations , Adult , Child , Denial, Psychological , Female , HIV Infections/psychology , HIV Infections/transmission , Humans , Interviews as Topic , Middle Aged , Models, Psychological , Social Isolation , United StatesABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to revise and evaluate the Parental Perception of Uncertainty Scale (PPUS) for use in measuring parental uncertainty during the diagnosis of serious illness in a child. The concept of parental uncertainty during diagnosis was elaborated and original PPUS items were revised based on a review of the literature. Content validity of the revision was judged by nurse and parent experts. Preliminary psychometric evaluation of the measure was conducted in a sample of 25 biological mothers of infants who are HIV seropositive. The results offer initial support for the reliability and validity of the revised instrument.
Subject(s)
Nursing Assessment/methods , Parents/psychology , Pediatric Nursing/methods , Surveys and Questionnaires , Adult , Female , Humans , Infant , Male , Reproducibility of ResultsSubject(s)
Data Interpretation, Statistical , HIV Infections , Nursing Evaluation Research , Adult , Child , Child Welfare , Cooperative Behavior , Female , Humans , Quality Control , Women's HealthABSTRACT
Support from health care providers (HCPs) can reduce parental uncertainty during the diagnosis of serious childhood conditions, but the effect may change when the parent is chronically ill. The purpose of this study was to learn whether a mother's uncertainty about her HIV diminished the effect of support from HCPs on parental uncertainty during the diagnosis of perinatally acquired HIV infection. Participants were 25 women who accompanied their biological children to pediatric HIV screening clinics at two urban sites. Questionnaires were read to participants in a private area of clinic. To test for mediation, three models for parental uncertainty were examined using regression procedures. The results suggest that when a mother has HIV infection, HCPs can maximize the effect of their support on parental uncertainty by also addressing mother's uncertainty about her HIV during the baby's screening visits.