An Analysis of a Self-Management Framework to Identify Factors Affecting the Need for Nutritional Supplementation among Seropositive African- American Mothers

Background: Self-medicating with nutritional supplements is one behavior that people living with HIV/AIDS disease engage in to help cope with their physical and mental challenges. The caregiving duties of mothers make them particularly vulnerable to these challenges. Objective: The objective of this study was to analyze a self-management framework to identify factors affecting seropositive African-American mothers' decisions to borrow money from family members or friends to help pay for nutritional supplements. Methods: A sample of 49 mothers enrolled in an agency providing HIV/AIDS support services in North Carolina, USA were recruited to voluntarily participate in this study by filling out a questionnaire pertaining to variables in the self-management framework and their need for nutritional supplementation. The proxy measure for this need was the question that asked mothers “During the past year, have you borrowed money from family members or friends to help pay for over-the-counter products, such as multivitamins, minerals, or nutritional drinks?” Mothers also completed the Beck Depression Inventory II and the Perceived Stress Scale. Results: The parsimonious model derived from a stepwise logistic regression analysis identified factors within the self-management process of the self-management framework to affect mothers' need for nutritional supplementation. Both receipt of mental health care and substance abuse treatment services (B=2.63, p=.02) and being cognitively-affectively depressed (B=.18, p=.01) were found to increase the likelihood that mothers sought financial support from family members or friends to acquire nutritional supplements. Conclusion: It was concluded that HIV/AIDS service providers should be diligent in both the diagnosis and referral processes to ensure that clients receive the nutritional and mental health care and substance-abuse treatment services they need in order to proceed through the self management process with a favorable prognosis.