Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jul-Aug;23(4):294-305.
doi: 10.1016/j.jana.2011.08.014. Epub 2011 Nov 13.

The forms and functions of peer social support for people living with HIV

Jennifer L Peterson  1 , Lance S Rintamaki, Dale E Brashers, Daena J Goldsmith, Judith L Neidig
Affiliations

The forms and functions of peer social support for people living with HIV

Jennifer L Peterson et al. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2012 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Peers may be important sources of coping assistance, but their impact can be better understood if we examine their influence across various contexts. Although social support studies focused on people living with HIV have examined peer support in various contexts, they do not comprehensively account for situations in which peer support might be provided. The specific aims of this study were to (a) describe the various forms and functions of peer support for people living with HIV and (b) validate the Dennis (2003) concept analysis of peer support within health contexts. Results indicate that peer support is a potentially important adjunct to clinical care for enhancing coping skills, thereby improving the psychosocial functioning of people living with HIV. It is important to (a) assess patient access to peer support, (b) provide opportunities for peer support in the clinical setting, and (c) enhance disclosure and support-seeking skills to facilitate this benefit.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure. The authors report no real or perceived vested interests that relate to this article (including relationships with pharmaceutical companies, biomedical device manufacturers, grantors, or other entities whose products or services are related to topics covered in this manuscript) that could be construed as a conflict of interest.

References

    1. Albrecht TL, Goldsmith DJ. Social support, social networks, and health. In: Thompson T, editor. Handbook of health communication. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum; 2003. pp. 263–284.
    1. Ashman JJ, Conviser R, Pounds MB. Associations between HIV-positive individuals’ receipt of ancillary services and medical care receipt and retention. AIDS Care. 2002;14(S1):S109–S118. doi: 10.1080/09540120220149993a. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Berg CA, Upchurch R. A developmental-contextual model of couples coping with chronic illness across the adult life span. Psychological Bulletin. 2007;133:920–954. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.133.6.920. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brashers DE, Haas SM, Neidig JL. The patient self-advocacy scale (PSAS): Measuring involvement in health care decision making. Health Communication. 1999;11(2):97–122. doi: 10.1207/s15327027hc1102_1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brashers DE, Neidig JL, Goldsmith DJ. Social support and the management of uncertainty for people living with HIV or AIDS. Health Communication. 2004;16(3):305–331. doi: 10.1207/S15327027HC1603_3. - DOI - PubMed

Publication types