Jardenil, John KC; NenitaL. Ortega, RMT MA; Jose NMC Sescon, MD, DPOGS; Geminiano Acosta
Remedios AIDS Foundation, Kaagapay Support Group; Names Project, Philippines

BURNT OUT AND CARE TO CARE GIVERS:
A NEED TO BE ADDRESSED AMONG CARE GIVERS

ISSUE:

HIV/AIDS and STD is not just a medical problem and concern. It is as well as social, psychological, emotional issue. It encompasses the whole aspect of a persons life thus affecting the totality of a person and this affects the infected person, as well the affected ones and the caregivers as well. In most of the cases care givers like counselors, bedside care givers and the families attending to their infected loved ones are more often than not also suffer and feel the burnt out of caring and supporting someone who is infected. At the end of the day after a hard days work committedly giving care and assisting someone.

DISCUSSION:

Caregivers are entitled to rest and relaxation. They also need some sort of counseling  because of the burden of caring for someone who is infected. They need to have some coping mechanisms on how to deal with burnt out. These coping mechanisms in whatever form will be used to deal with boredom and burnt out in the course of their work. Eventually, there will be too many patients to care versus the number of available carers, thus a need to address burnt out and care for caregivers as well.

RECOMMENDATION:

Care givers are human beings. Like the care receivers they as well need care for themselves either by a peer or someone who they can talk to. Though studies show that burnt out issue has nothing to do with their HIV work, still they suffer from emotional distress and burnt out, an issue that needs to be addressed.