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HIV/AIDS

• Introduction to HIV/AIDS
• Overview of HIV/AIDS
• Health Promotion and Prevention of HIV
• HIV the virus
• AIDS and Opportunistic Infections
• Legal, Ethical, Moral Issues
• Mental Health and Spirituality
• Issues for Women and Children
• Sex workers and Intravenous Drug Users
• The face of HIV/AIDS
• Care of people with HIV/AIDS
• Community support and alternative therapies
• Critiquing literature and poster assignment
• Assessments
• Picture Gallery

Mental Health and Spirituality

Otago Polytechnic Student Portal and Student IT Service Desk
Bill Robertson library services and facilities for remote students
Library of resources
Elluminate web conference - Class meeting link
email discussion forum on Google Groups

To Do

• View the presentation about mental health issues specifically in relation to long term survivors of HIV/AIDS.
• View the ‎ Spirituality presentation;
• Read the material on the Stigma and Discrimination topic in the next section
• Review the spiritual dimension of HIV/AIDS and Planning for Spiritual Care (further on in this section);
• Explore and discuss a selection of spiritual scenarios.

Stigma and discrimination

One aspect of ensuring mental health is the promotion of a positive attitude and the acceptance and support from family, friends, partner(s) and the community. Stigma and discrimination can have a negative impact on an individual's mental health. (Contribution by Feriyal Baptist from the MindSet Network.

Planning for spiritual care

Long term goal: To minimize spiritual distress

Objectives

The patient will do the following:

• Continue spiritual practices which are not detrimental to health;
• Express decreased feelings of guilt and anxiety;
• Express religious or spiritual satisfaction;
• State that conflict has been reduced or eliminated;
• Express comfort with their relationship with their god and with significant others;
• Rest comfortably;
• State acceptance of ethical/moral decisions;
• Display positive affect and behaviour;
• State that they feel at peace;
• Express positive meaning in their existence and in their present circumstances.

Interventions

• Establish an environment that promotes free expression of feelings and concerns;
• Use therapeutic communication skills of reflection and active listening;
• Appropriate use of presence and touch;
• Promote patient’s spiritual beliefs
• Encourage or help maintain patient’s relationship with their personal god;
• Promote patient’s sense of hope;
• Refer to appropriate resources for help;
• Advocate for the patient’s spiritual beliefs with the health team;
• Provide spiritual resources if otherwise unavailable.

• Assist the patient to do the following:

Meet his or her own spiritual goals;

Fulfil religious obligations;

Use spiritual resources to meet the present situation;

Find meaning in their existence and in their present difficult situation;

Mend disrupted relationships.

Return to the Previous Page: Legal, Ethical, Moral Issues

Go to the next page: Issues for Women and Children