Experiences of Informal Female Caregivers Providing Care for People Living With HIV in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

This study explored and described the experiences of informal female caregivers providing home-based care to people living with HIV (PLWH) in the Dar es Salaam region, Tanzania. The research design was qualitative, descriptive, and exploratory, and was based on the interpretive paradigm. Study participants provided care at home for family members who were living with HIV at World Health Organization–defined HIV clinical stages III or IV. Semistructured interviews were conducted with eight participants. Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Themes that emerged were the costs of caring, HIV-related stigma and discrimination, stress and burnout, care burden, and the challenges and support for caregivers. Caregivers of PLWH fulfill an important component of care in developing countries. They provide care that enables PLWH to have some hope, if not of survival, of being cared for with love and dignity.

Key words: AIDS, care burden, HIV, informal caregivers, qualitative research