Patient Hope: Exploring the Interactions between Physicians and HIV Seropositive Individuals

Abstract

This study investigated interactions between physicians and HIV seropositive persons that enhance or diminish patient hope. Twenty-two critical incident accounts and interview transcripts were obtained from 6 HIV seropositive and 2 AIDS-diagnosed individuals. The data were analyzed for components within patient/doctor interactions that influence patient hope, whereby either hope-enhancing (hope-full) or hope-diminishing (hopeless) interactions were identified. A central theme emerged in which the valence of the patients' perceived relationship with the doctor was salient to the hope-potential of each interaction. Five critical requirements contributing to a hope-full versus a hope-less interaction were identified. Categories consisted of paired factors at opposing valences: (a) being known as human/being known as a case, (b) connecting/disconnecting, (c) descriptive/prescriptive, (d) welcoming/dismissing, and (e) informing/poorly informing. This study gives rise to the need for further investigation into the patient/doctor relationship as it pertains to patient hope.