Psychosocial Experience and Coping of AIDS Patients About the Disease: A Systematic Review and Qualitative Meta-Synthesis

Abstract

Aim: To systematically integrate the psychosocial experiences and coping mechanisms of AIDS patients after the disease, and to understand their true feelings, in order to provide a basis for better implementation of psychological interventions for AIDS patients. Methods: An automated search of the Cochrane Library, PubMed, JBI, CINAHL, Web of Science, EBSCO, Embase database, CNKI, Wanfang Database, Wipro Database, and SinoMed from the database’s creation until March 2025 turned up all the literature on the psychosocial experience of AIDS patients and response strategies. The quality of the gathered literature was assessed using the JBI Center for Evidence-Based Health Care’s 2016 Qualitative Research Evaluation Tool, and the results were compiled and interpreted using the pooled synthesis approach. Results: A total of 15 papers were included, and 36 themes were distilled and grouped into 11 new categories, which were brought together into 3 integrative results: complex psychological responses: identity ruptures and struggles, reconstructing psychological adaptations: and from collapse to reconstruction, adapting coping strategies: from passive acceptance to active resistance. Conclusion: The psychosocial experience of AIDS patients is multidimensional and dynamic, and clinical staff should pay attention to the psychosocial problems of patients. In the future, through policy optimization, individual empowerment and social support, personalized psychological intervention and effective health education will be provided to build a more inclusive AIDS care ecosystem. Patient or Public Contribution: This systematic review did not directly involve people living with HIV to design or conduct the review. However, this finding will inform a qualitative study designed to explore the psychosocial feelings and illness coping experiences of people living with AIDS.