Issues and purpose: The cohort of children with perinatally transmitted human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is now entering young adulthood. One issue for nurses caring for this group living with a treatable chronic illness is the need to provide services that both prevent mother-to-child transmission and support antiretroviral (ARV) treatment. Using a case composite, this article describes the care of the perinatally HIV-infected woman and her child with HIV infection.
Conclusion: A multigenerational family-centered nursing approach to HIV care both facilitated a mother accepting care and treatment for herself and her child and improved the adherence of the family to their individual ARV treatment regimens.
Practice implications: Care of the family with multigenerational perinatally transmitted HIV infection requires that nurses build on their expertise in chronic illness, expand their interventions, and remain flexible.