ABSTRACT
Social and medical needs of persons living with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) are becoming harder to meet as the pandemic increases and the resources decrease. Volunteer organizations and informal groups of caregivers are required to provide the patient care and support that professional caregivers can no longer handle with ease. In many of the current volunteer networks, it is quite common for caregivers to be grieving the death of someone from AIDS while still continuing to be part of an informal network of family and friends caring for another person or persons with AIDS. As a part of the intimate involvement with a patient, caregivers learn the words to talk about the disease. Many are aware that knowing the right words to describe what is happening often relieves some of their anxiety and discomfort. The AIDS pandemic has brought many new caregiver issues to the attention of health professionals.
