Health-Related Worry among Informal Aids Caregivers

Abstract

We examine health-related worries among a sample of informal AIDS caregivers ( N = 640), people caring for a friend, loved one or kin outside the formal health care system. Two dimensions of worry are assessed: (1) a generalized sense of vulnerability to sickness; and (2) perceptions of care provision as risky in itself. Many informal AIDS caregivers, whether they are HIV seronegative or seropositive, harbor considerable worry about their own vulnerability to sickness, yet relatively few appear to worry about caregiving as a risky activity per se. We document important variation in the levels and correlates of worry across caregivers as they differ by serostatus and health. We also uncover variation in worry rooted in sociodemographic background and the differential experience of care-related stress. Prevailing theories of risk perception help to illustrate why informal caregivers might differ from other populations in their view of AIDS. Vignettes and quotes culled from marginal comments, which were systematically recorded by trained interviewers during implementation of the survey, supplement the quantitative data.