Health Focused Education and Counseling for a Patient Diagnosed as HIV Positive

Abstract

AIDS is a chronic, life-threatening condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Examined is a patient education and counseling model applied to a patient with AIDS. Offered is a model utilizing problem based questions, goals and objectives and applied theory that is summarized in an algorithm of care for the patient with AIDS. Stages of HIV infection are used to facilitate clinical evaluation and plan therapeutic interventions. The process of health-focused counseling involves a number of critical components: assessment, patient education, health focused counseling, treatment intervention, and follow-up. The use of the health focused education and counseling model has been found to be relevant and appropriate when considering the need to tailor patient education and treatment to evidenced based decisions for health professionals.