Stress symptomatology among caregivers of people with HIV/AIDS in North of Paraná, Brazil

The number of people infected by HIV is increasing in Brazil, being one of the South American countries with higher prevalence rates of this disease (UNAIDS, 2004). Stress suffered by caregivers of people with HIV/AIDS is a potential threat to the quality of care being offered. The present study has two central aims: to assess the stress symptomatology among care-givers of people with HIV and to explore which socio-demographic variables are significantly related to these stress symptoms. A total of 87 persons who provide care to people living with HIV/AIDS in southeast Brazil responded to an anonymous postal survey that consisted of: sociodemographic questions and stress symptoms as measured by the Stress Symptomatology Inventory. The results of a MANOVA showed a significant relationship between being a volunteer or having a temporary contract with the sociopsychological and general symptomatology. These data indicate that situational variables seem to be related to some stress symptoms.