The lived experience of gay male partners of men with AIDS

Abstract

The AIDS epidemic in this country continues to grow. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of being the gay male partner of a man with AIDS. The conceptual orientation for this study included the concepts of transition, role, and caregiving. The research design was qualitative with phenomenology providing the philosophical perspective. Interview data were analyzed according to Colaizzi's method (1983). Three partners volunteered for the study. All partners were HIV negative and lived with a man with AIDS. Eight theme categories emerged as characteristic of partners' experience. Partners reported worry, ambivalence, and fear as commonly experienced emotions. Limitations of this study were small sample size and cross sectional nature of the research. The study yielded information on areas where nurses can have an impact on the lives of the partners of PW A. Recommendations for further research included a larger study population to ensure saturation in all categories of data.