Living with the uncertainty of HIV/AIDS

Because of the success of antiretroviral therapies in the United States, HIV/AIDS is increasingly treated as a long-term, chronic illness. People who live with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS often face uncertainty in the medical, personal, and social aspects of their lives (Brashers, Neidig, Reynolds, & Haas, 1998). Such uncertainty is stressful and can impair HIV-positive people's quality of life (Brashers et al, 1998; McCain & Cella, 1995; Regan-Kubinski & Sharts-Hopko, 1995; Weitz, 1989). To maintain a good quality of life, people living with HIV/AIDS must learn to cope with this unpredictability and uncertainty (Murdaugh, 1998).