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HIV/AIDS and the Drug Culture: Shattered Lives

NCJ Number
180581
Author(s)
Elizabeth Hagan; Joan Gormley
Date Published
1998
Length
230 pages
Annotation
This book discusses the lifestyle and culture of the intravenous drug user with HIV/AIDS and suggests how health care providers and caregivers can update their methods and mindsets to meet the needs of this distinctive patient population.
Abstract
This book evolved from the authors' having had repeated dealings with a large, metropolitan population of dually diagnosed intravenous drug users with HIV/AIDS. Based on this experience, the authors provide information and guidance to clinicians and caregivers who deal directly with this population of patients, so as to assist in the development of comprehensive care and treatment plans. The book's format is centered in the presentation of case studies, each of which explores an actual situation and individual. Each case study is followed by a correlating set of strategies that have proven safe and effective for managing the diverse and complex needs of this population. Part I is written from the perspective of the health care professionals in the outpatient clinic setting and addresses nursing, social work, and case-management issues for care planning. Part II focuses on the same issues from the perspective of the home health care team. Part III identifies some of the challenges for the hospice care provider as the patients' needs change from palliative care to intensive symptom management and family/caregiver education and support. The principles of the harm reduction model are applied across the continuum of care, enabling practitioners to provide options for change to individuals who might otherwise be lost within the health care system. 37 references, a 61-item bibliography, and a glossary

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