Determinants of Coping Strategy among People Living with HIV/AIDS in Punjab-Pakistan

Abstract

This study found coping strategies used by people living with HIV/AIDS to deal with or avoid disease-related stress and explored factors that influenced their selection of coping strategies. A cross-sectional survey was done on HIV patients registered with PACP. A sample of 420 patients was conveniently selected from two treatment centres. Most of the respondents used positive coping (problem-solving and group support) frequently, while few people used negative coping (dysfunctional) in a small amount. The results showed that males used problem-solving most frequently, while transgender used dysfunctional coping most frequently. Age and employment did not significantly affect the selection of coping strategies. Educated people adopted group support coping most frequently, and people with higher incomes adopted both positive coping (problem-solving and group support) strategies. Recently diagnosed people commonly used dysfunctional coping, while people who had been diagnosed more than five years ago adopted it very little.