Social inclusion of hiv positive people: Role of social worker

HIV/AIDS affects millions of individuals and families world-wide. Those at risk include youth, women, men who have sex with men, and heterosexual men who engage in high-risk activities such as unprotected sex and sharing of needles. While there is no cure for the disease, people are living longer with all the accompanying joys and challenges this entails. On an individual level, social workers provide a broad range of services and supports to those living with HIV/AIDS. Social workers are familiar with community resources such as income support bureaucracies, education/training programs and career planning, prescription drug programs and policies, short-and long-term disability programs, housing, human rights legislation, addictions services, legal services, services and resources for people who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual, and nutrition and food security. Social workers often work with those living with HIV/AIDS to navigate these systems, while empowering clients to make informed decisions affecting their health. Social workers also provide therapy and counselling for concerns such as new diagnosis, disclosure, intimate partner violence, depression, fertility, anxiety, relationships (intimate and familial), grief and loss, and addictions. Often, they work within the context of a multidisciplinary team in providing support for those living with a chronic illness. Team members may include a nurse practitioner, physician, pharmacist, psychologist, psychiatrist, immunologist, and a representative from public health. In the community context, social workers continue to advocate on behalf of those living with HIV/AIDS through community organization and policy development. They also provide education to reduce the incidence of HIV through harm reduction and health promotion. Social workers understand that health care is more than medical care. (CASW)