Social support and mental health in medical staff caring for HIV/AIDS

Objective To explore the relationship between social support and mental health in medical staffcaring for HIV/AIDS.Methods Social Support Rating Scale(SSRS)and General Health Questionnaire(GHQ-12)weretested in 342 medical staffcaring for HIV/AIDS in Henan province.Results Among the medical staffcaring for HIV/AIDS,the score of Objective support was lower significantly,but the score of subjective support and use of support were higher significantly(P<0.01,P<0.05).Compared to that of general doctors,the prevalence of mental health problems was 33.9% in the medicals taff,and 39.4% in nurses.The social support correlated negatively with mental health(P<0.05).Subjective support and use of support could significantly predict the status of mental health(P<0.05),but Objective support could not(P>0.05).Conclusion Social support has an impact on psychological health of medical staffcaring for HIV/AIDS.