Conceptualization and sociodemographic/clinical characteristics of people witg HIV residing in residential centers

Abstract

Among the 150000 people with HIV (PHIV) estimated to be currently in Spain, there is a group of PHIV residing in residential centers, because they lack the necessary skillsto meet the demands of daily functioning. However, there is no clear definition and little is known about the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of this group. A literature review was carried out on PHIV residing in residential centers, and a sociodemographic and clinical data sheet was administered to 60 PHIV residing in residential centers and 60 PHIV with stable housing, comparing these characteristics between both groups by Fisher’s exact test, the chi test of the squares and the Student t test. The term of PHIV in situation of social vulnerability is proposed, as a conceptualization that recognizes the power and learning capacity of this group of PHIV. PHIV in situation of social vulnerability show lower T-CD4 lymphocyte counts (X2≤ .05), are mostly men (F ≤ .05), have a lower level of education (X2 ≤ .05), the vast majority are unemployed (F ≤ .05), participate to a lesser extent in volunteering (F ≤.05) and present a greater attendance to courses or classes (F ≤ .05). The findings suggest that PHIV in situation of social vulnerability show their own characteristics, which are the starting point for the development of socio-educational interventions that improve their quality of life

Keywords

• persona con vih
• vulnerabilidad social
• centro residencial