ABSTRACT
In the years since acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was first recognized and then developed into a national health “crisis,” there has been an explosion in the number of persons afflicted and an accompanying expansion in the range of services and treatments available (Clement, 1989; Schofferman, 1988). However, the response of our health care system has been variously criticized as too slow, overly political, and inefficient (Perrow & Guillen, 1990). Although critiques of today’s health care system range from discussions of inadequate funding for research and service development to insufficient preventive public education, we are concerned in this chapter with examining the failure to adequately account for the role of care partners (CPs) in managing the illness of persons with AIDS.
