Reliance by gay men and intravenous drug users on friends and family for AIDS-related care.

A group of gay-identified men (n = 81) and intravenous drug users (n = 88) diagnosed with AIDS in San Francisco were interviewed regarding their use of friends and family to meet their care needs. Analytic of quantitative data revealed that gay men relied more than did IDUs on friends for care. Neither group relied primarily on their families for care. Analysis of the qualitative data identified five primary barriers to care. First, many people with AIDS are not accustomed to asking for help and often avoid it when possible. Second, the social stigma surrounding AIDS sometimes leads to isolation. Third, some people with AIDS have kin with health problems of their own, thereby sometimes compromising this potential source of care. Fourth, the AIDS epidemic has devastated identifiable sub-populations, leaving surviving members of these groups emotionally exhausted and sometimes unable to provide as much help as they might have liked. Finally, some respondents choose to voluntarily cut themselves off from 'supportive' relationships that they perceive to be destructive now that they have been diagnosed with a fatal illness. Professional care providers and health care planners should be aware of dynamics within informal care networks of people with AIDS that may leave patients without necessary care.