Studies show that people who are invested in their own care do much better. People who take an active role in their own care generally live healthier, more productive lives. If we assume all responsibility for people living with HIV, those people lose that investment, and their health eventually suffers. In the case of the health care provider, both the provider and the patient should have expectations. Provider expectations include:
- To care for the client to the best of our ability.
- To stay current in HIV treatment options.
- To make certain and encourage patients to take an active role in their care.
- Most importantly, we must be aware that sometimes a little care and encouragement goes a long way.
The patient has expectations as well. They include:
- Taking an active role in their own care at a level their current health status allows.
- They should know their disease to the best of their ability.
- They should make every effort to live a healthy and safe life style.
- They should attend regualr health care visits with their doctor.
So What Can We as Caregivers Do?
To help our patients or our loved ones we must:
- Assess our patients or loved ones needs and abilities.
- We must structure our care plans to maximize the person's ability to participate in their own care while optimizing their health.
By doing these simple things, we allow the person living with HIV to feel invested in their own care and health, which in turn will result in a better longterm outcome. Like the old saying goes..."too much of a good thing...."
