J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2000 Jul-Aug; 11(4): 34-45.

Effects of an empowerment program on coping, quality of life, and the maternal role adaptation of Thai HIV-infected mothers.

Jirapaet V.

Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

The objective of this study was to explore strategies for improving the appropriateness of a health care delivery model to meet HIV-infected mothers' complex needs. A participatory action research paradigm was used as a process for an empowerment program (EP) and to elucidate the essential components of the program identified by these mothers. To test the EP's effectiveness, a nonequivalent control group pretest-posttest, quasi-experimental design was used. The participants included 94 Thai HIV-infected mothers rearing their own infants, with 46 in the 6-week experimental group and 48 in the control group. Study findings showed that the mothers in the EP group significantly increased levels of coping ability, quality of life, and maternal role adaptation when compared to mothers in the control group. In addition, data analysis revealed five components of the EP that were identified by mothers as essential for HIV-infected mothers' psychological well-being and their maternal role adaptation. These interventions included peer group meetings, professional support on infant rearing and maternal self-care, stress management, access to available social support, and alternative medicine. The mothers reported greater autonomy, accountability, collegiality, and more effective communication by the implication process of the EP.