학술논문

Companion Animals' Roles for AIDS Survivors, Mostly Aging Males, during HIV/AIDS and COVID-19 Pandemics.
Document Type
article
Source
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI. 12(11)
Subject
animal companionship
antiretroviral
cats
disabilities
dogs
isolation
loneliness
resilience
social support
stigma
Depression
Behavioral and Social Science
Mental Health
HIV/AIDS
Aging
7.1 Individual care needs
Management of diseases and conditions
Environmental Science and Management
Zoology
Animal Production
Language
Abstract
Long-term HIV/AIDS survivors responded online concerning their experiences during the AIDS and COVID pandemics. Recruited from web-based organizations for AIDS survivors, 147 answered questions on: frequency of experiencing stigma, isolation, aloneness, or grief/sadness; pet ownership; and sources of human support during each pandemic. Conditional inference trees were run to identify relevant demographic factors. Post-hoc comparisons were conducted to compare dog owners and cat owners. AIDS survivors reported more frequent feelings of stigma, aloneness, and sadness/grief during the AIDS pandemic than during COVID. Cat owners' sadness/grief during AIDS was greater than non-owners. During COVID, older respondents unexpectedly were less often sad/grieving than younger ones; dog owners less often felt alone and isolated than non-dog owners. Support during the AIDS pandemic retrospectively was rated better for older respondents; young gays' support was greater than young straights. During COVID, support was better for men than women. Contrastingly, women with pets felt less support than those without; men with dogs felt more support than those without. Cat owners more often felt isolated and unsupported during COVID than dog owners. Few dog or cat owners received support from family members in either pandemic; during AIDS, family support was better for owners of dogs than cats.