Although it would be wrong to claim that there has been no progress in identifying the treatment options for HIV/AIDS, it still remains the scourge of the contemporary era (National healthcare quality and disparities report, 2014). According to the latest report published on the subject matter, the therapy provided to the patients in question implies that the family members should take an active part in the process of managing the disorder and encouraging the patient. Although claiming that the significance of family support used to be toned down before the report published would be quite a stretch, it is the 2014 official statement of the organization that sets a direct course for incorporating the family-based support into the framework of the treatment process. While the above addition might seem to be minor given the deplorable effects and the threats that the disease poses to the patient’s health, family support, in fact, serves as the tool for boosting patient’s awareness about HIV. As a result, better therapy outcomes can be expected.
Apart from affecting an individual patient, the changes to the AHQR previous findings serve as the platform for making the family members feel more useful in tending to the needs of their relatives diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. There is no secret that the understanding of their helplessness in managing the disease that is currently viewed as incurable is likely to trigger a significant increase in the number of negative emotions in the family members and may even cause a development of depression episodes (Pequegnant, 2013). The provision of the family-focused approach that invites the people who are the closest to the patient to participate in the therapy process, therefore, will provide the people in question with an opportunity to contribute to the recovery process and, therefore, feel needed and, thus, avoid experiencing the negative emotions described above. Granted that the adoption of the approach described above does not guarantee that the family members will not feel desperate because of the pressure that the participation implies there will be more chances for avoiding the threat of depression.
It should be borne in mind that the current framework designed by the NY State Department of Health for the victims of HIV/AIDS also focuses rather loosely on the aspect of family involvement. To be more accurate, the program created by the department does not stress the need for involving family members and friends into the intervention process, and even suggests that their opinion should not affect the patient’s decision-making process (New York State Department, 2016). The phenomenon above can be attributed to the fact that the awareness rates on the matter of HIV and the related problems are often deplorably low among general audiences. Therefore, the program aimed at raising awareness among the members of the families with HIV/AIDS patients should be created.
Despite the fact that the statements made in the 2014 AHRQ report cannot be deemed as groundbreaking in terms of the HIV therapy, they, nevertheless, point to the further evolution of the intervention in a very obvious manner, therefore, setting premises for the design of an even more elaborate approach. The focus on the importance of contacting family members and developing trustworthy relationships based on compassion and empathy serves as the means of boosting the patent’s confidence. As a result, it can be expected that the patients will explore their treatment options more eagerly and have a more positive attitude to the treatment process.
Reference List
National healthcare quality and disparities report. (2014). Web.
New York State Department. (2016). Deciding about health care: A guide for patients and families. Web.
Pequegnant, W. (2013). Family and HIV/AIDS: Cultural and contextual issues in prevention and treatment. New York,, NY: Springer.