Biomaterial Database

Social support and support groups among people with HIV/AIDS in Ghana. 2016

Tina Abrefa-Gyan, and Liyun Wu, and Marilyn W Lewis

a The Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work , Norfolk State University , Norfolk , Virginia, USA.

HIV/AIDS, a chronic burden in Ghana, poses social and health outcome concerns to those infected. Examining the Medical Outcome Study Social Support Survey (MOS-SSS) instrument among 300 Ghanaians from a cross-sectional design, Principal Component Analysis yielded four factors (positive interaction, trust building, information giving, and essential support), which accounted for 85.73% of the total variance in the MOS-SSS. A logistic regression analysis showed that essential support was the strongest predictor of the length of time an individual stayed in the support group, whereas positive interaction indicated negative association. The study's implications for policy, research, and practice were discussed.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D003430	Cross-Sectional Studies	Studies in which the presence or absence of disease or other health-related variables are determined in each member of the study population or in a representative sample at one particular time. This contrasts with LONGITUDINAL STUDIES which are followed over a period of time.	Disease Frequency Surveys,Prevalence Studies,Analysis, Cross-Sectional,Cross Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Survey,Surveys, Disease Frequency,Analyses, Cross Sectional,Analyses, Cross-Sectional,Analysis, Cross Sectional,Cross Sectional Analyses,Cross Sectional Studies,Cross Sectional Survey,Cross-Sectional Analyses,Cross-Sectional Analysis,Cross-Sectional Study,Cross-Sectional Surveys,Disease Frequency Survey,Prevalence Study,Studies, Cross-Sectional,Studies, Prevalence,Study, Cross-Sectional,Study, Prevalence,Survey, Cross-Sectional,Survey, Disease Frequency,Surveys, Cross-Sectional
D005163	Factor Analysis, Statistical	A set of statistical methods for analyzing the correlations among several variables in order to estimate the number of fundamental dimensions that underlie the observed data and to describe and measure those dimensions. It is used frequently in the development of scoring systems for rating scales and questionnaires.	Analysis, Factor,Analysis, Statistical Factor,Factor Analysis,Statistical Factor Analysis,Analyses, Factor,Analyses, Statistical Factor,Factor Analyses,Factor Analyses, Statistical,Statistical Factor Analyses
D005260	Female		Females
D005869	Ghana	A republic in western Africa, south of BURKINA FASO and west of TOGO. Its capital is Accra.	Gold Coast,Republic of Ghana
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000163	Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome	An acquired defect of cellular immunity associated with infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a CD4-positive T-lymphocyte count under 200 cells/microliter or less than 14% of total lymphocytes, and increased susceptibility to opportunistic infections and malignant neoplasms. Clinical manifestations also include emaciation (wasting) and dementia. These elements reflect criteria for AIDS as defined by the CDC in 1993.	AIDS,Immunodeficiency Syndrome, Acquired,Immunologic Deficiency Syndrome, Acquired,Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome,Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome,Acquired Immuno Deficiency Syndrome,Acquired Immuno-Deficiency Syndromes,Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndromes,Immuno-Deficiency Syndrome, Acquired,Immuno-Deficiency Syndromes, Acquired,Immunodeficiency Syndromes, Acquired,Syndrome, Acquired Immuno-Deficiency,Syndrome, Acquired Immunodeficiency,Syndromes, Acquired Immuno-Deficiency,Syndromes, Acquired Immunodeficiency
D012657	Self-Help Groups	Organizations which provide an environment encouraging social interactions through group activities or individual relationships especially for the purpose of rehabilitating or supporting patients, individuals with common health problems, or the elderly. They include therapeutic social clubs.	Social Clubs, Therapeutic,Support Groups,Clubs, Therapeutic Social,Therapeutic Social Clubs,Club, Therapeutic Social,Group, Self-Help,Group, Support,Groups, Self-Help,Groups, Support,Self Help Groups,Self-Help Group,Social Club, Therapeutic,Support Group,Therapeutic Social Club
D012944	Social Support	Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance such as COMMUNITY SUPPORT is provided by churches, groups, etc.	Perceived Social Support,Social Care,Online Social Support,Care, Social,Online Social Supports,Perceived Social Supports,Social Support, Online,Social Support, Perceived,Social Supports, Online,Social Supports, Perceived,Support, Online Social,Support, Perceived Social,Support, Social,Supports, Perceived Social
D013997	Time Factors	Elements of limited time intervals, contributing to particular results or situations.	Time Series,Factor, Time,Time Factor