ABSTRACT
As more women in the developed world have become infected with HIV, there has been a growing body of literature on the specific problems they face (O'Sullivan and Thomson, 1992; see also Ilett, 1993). Studies tend to focus upon issues pertinent to women, such as the natural history of HIV in women, sexuality and reproduction, and differential access to, and needs from, health services (Bury et al, 1992; Dorn et al, 1992; Doyal et al, 1994; Sherr, 1991). It has been suggested that for women, particularly poor women, HIV is an essentially 'different disease' than for men (Ward, 1993). Issues relating to the social relationships of people with HIV, however, are less clearly gendered and differences between men and women in this area have therefore been die focus of very few studies. This chapter aims to review the skeletal literature in this area within the context of the more general literature about social support and HIV, and to analyse data collected from 66 men and women with HIV to see whether there is any evidence that the social relationships of men and women with HIV are different and whether this has an impact upon their psychosocial well-being.
