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Phone
support group helps older people with HIV/AIDS develop coping skills, new
study finds By
Andrea Gibson Eurekalert,
September
2, 2003 ATHENS, Ohio – More than 90,000 people in the United States are over the age of 50 at the time they are diagnosed with AIDS and at least 25 percent of them suffer from depression. But a new Ohio University study suggests that a telephone support group can lessen stress and improve the coping skills of older adults living with the disease. In the pilot study,
which will be presented this Saturday at the National Association of HIV
Over Fifty Conference in Scottsdale, Az., 23 older adults who had been
diagnosed with depression participated in a 12-week telephone support
group. The participants, who were recruited through AIDS service
organizations in Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Arizona, discussed life
stressors and issues related to aging with HIV/AIDS. Licensed social
workers offered advice about coping mechanisms and ways to seek support
for health problems. Those involved in
the 12-session program reported greater reductions in stress and suicidal
thoughts and an increase in coping skills, compared to a control group of
21 people who did not participate in the support group, said Timothy
Heckman, an Ohio University health psychologist and lead author of the
study. The telephone
intervention program appealed to participants who were too geographically
remote from or physically unable to drive to standard support groups or
counseling services, as well as those who were concerned about
confidentiality issues. The telephone is one way to circumvent some or all
of those barriers, Heckman said. "Many of our participants noted that
they don't have to dress up, drive in and try to present a good image when
everything is not well," he said. "The telephone is financially
and psychologically easier." The study is funded
by a two-year, $435,000 grant from the National Institute on Aging to
evaluate the ability of the telephone-delivered mental health intervention
to improve the quality of life of older persons living with HIV/AIDS who
have been diagnosed with depression. In a previous study supported by the
National Institute of Mental Health, Heckman found that the phone support
group was successful in reducing depression and increasing social support
for rural Americans living with HIV/AIDS who don't have access to the
range of mental health services available in urban areas. Older adults with
HIV/AIDS face a unique situation: They not only must cope with the
disease, but grapple with the mental, physical and social changes that
come with aging, such as retirement and the loss of family and friends,
Heckman noted. "A lot is happening all at once, and it's very
difficult to cope with," he said. The telephone
support group allowed older adults with HIV/AIDS to connect with people
with similar experiences, said Lori Brown, a licensed social worker who
moderated several of the phone sessions from the project's home base in
Athens, Ohio. Some older women, for example, discussed issues such as
menopause, lack of a romantic partner and relationships with children with
other women. In another support group, three participants who successfully
underwent psychiatric treatment encouraged a fourth caller to seek
professional counseling. And those who have lived with HIV/AIDS for many
years offer hope to adults recently diagnosed with the disease, Brown
noted. "They often don't have people in their own communities who
have these same problems," she said. "They find comfort in
having someone to talk to." Participants in the
phone intervention also sought to establish relationships outside of the
group – exchanging cards, letters and e-mails and meeting in person,
Heckman and Brown said. "I was surprised how well they responded,
never having met face to face," Brown said. "I think it was
because of the safety of the telephone." Heckman and his colleagues
plan to continue the project using a larger, more geographically diverse
sample of older adults with HIV/AIDS. Collaborators on the
study are Monica Silverthorn, the project coordinator and a licensed
social worker, and Ohio University students Andrea Waltje, Melissa Meyers,
David Cosio and Dana Mitchell. Copyright
© 2002 Global Action on Aging
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