A Telephone-Delivered Coping Improvement Intervention for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Rural Areas

Abstract

ABSTRACT People living with HIV disease in small towns and rural areas often experience elevated perceptions of loneliness, lack access to mental health services, and engage in maladaptive illness-related coping strategies. It may be possible, however, to improve the life quality and coping capacities of HIV-infected rural residents through telephone-delivered, coping improvement interventions. The current article describes a telephone-delivered, coping improvement group intervention for HIV-infected rural residents based on a widely accepted cognitive-behavioral model of coping. An eight-session coping intervention is outlined and recommendations intended to increase the intervention's efficacy are provided. As the prevalence of rural AIDS escalates, mental health interventions that address the emotional and psychological needs of HIV-infected rural residents are increasingly needed.