       Document 0714
 DOCN  M9490714
 TI    Perceptions of the appropriate HIV/AIDS counsellor in Arusha and
       Kilimanjaro regions of Tanzania: implications for hospital counselling.
 DT    9411
 AU    Lie GT; Biswalo PM; Research Center for Health Promotion/Center for
       International; Health, University of Bergen, Norway.
 SO    AIDS Care. 1994;6(2):139-51. Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE MED/94339205
 AB    The objective of the study is to identify key characteristics of an
       HIV/AIDS counsellor who would prove to be culturally acceptable for the
       particular problems associated with HIV/AIDS in Arusha and Kilimanjaro,
       Tanzania. HIV/AIDS counselling in the hospitals is recommended by the
       Tanzanian Ministry of Health and by WHO. There was a need to check
       whether theories of counselling, developed in Western societies, would
       be valid in an African context. Few research reports exist on
       counselling in Africa. No previous studies have been conducted to
       identify locally important characteristics relevant for the Tanzanian
       HIV/AIDS hospital counsellor. A qualitative research approach is used.
       Methods of data collection are interviews and focus groups. A
       phenomenological and hermeneutical mode of analysing the data is
       utilized. In spite of differences in the cultural context, the data fit
       Western theories on client-centred counselling. Informants were more
       concerned with the social consequences of the disease than with the
       technical facts of AIDS. Stigma and fear of rejection are seen as major
       problems of HIV/AIDS. The findings indicate that confidentiality is
       central and that hospital counsellors must balance the fact-giving
       approach with a person-centred approach, exploring the client's problem
       conception and identifying who in the client's network can give the
       further necessary psycho-social support.
 DE    Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome/*PSYCHOLOGY/THERAPY  Adaptation,
       Psychological  Adolescence  Adult  AIDS Serodiagnosis/PSYCHOLOGY
       Comparative Study  *Counseling  *Cross-Cultural Comparison  *Developing
       Countries  Female  Human  HIV
       Infections/*PSYCHOLOGY/THERAPY/TRANSMISSION  Knowledge, Attitudes,
       Practice  Male  Middle Age  Nondirective Therapy  *Patient Care Team
       *Professional-Patient Relations  Support, Non-U.S. Gov't  Tanzania
       JOURNAL ARTICLE

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).

