Psychosocial Impact of the HIV/AIDS Diagnosis on the Family

Abstract

Introduction: Never before in the history of humankind had a pandemic caused so much desolation and sadness or destroyed so many families with such an alarming psychosocial impact.

Objective: To determine the psychosocial impact of the HIV/AIDS diagnosis on the families of patients with this diagnosis.

Methods: An observational, descriptive and cross-sectional study was carried out in the families of patients with the HIV/AIDS diagnosis in the "Armando García Aspurú" polyclinic, of Santiago de Cuba, from January 2018 to January 2019. The study universe was made up of the 26 families with at least one sick member.

Results: The most frequent ways of information by which the family found out were from the patient herself/himself, followed by information from the health services. The family's reaction to the news was hope that it was not true, followed by depression and anguish. In the beliefs expressed by the family about HIV, there was a prevalence of opinions related to the idea that the disease is acquired by people with a disorganized life. Regarding occupational, academic or social losses suffered due to the appearance of HIV, 84.6 % reported rejection from her/his couple. Before stigmatization, the family determines not to talk about the disease, due to fear of rejection and the feeling of shame.

Conclusions: HIV/AIDS infection transcends with a multiplicity of consequences at various levels. The major impacts are related to the family, where stigmatization plays a fundamental role as an intensifier of family and social behavior.