With the rise in the number of people with HIV/AIDS, and with many of them preferring to receive home treatment, patients need guidelines for the procedure.
Data from the World Health Organization (WHO) shows that between 70 and 90 percent of people with HIV/AIDS receive treatment at home. Numerous studies have also shown that people with HIV/AIDS preferred to obtain treatment at home.
Data from the Health Ministry confirmed that the number of reported HIV cases in Indonesia increased from 2,639 in 2005 to 4,158 cases in 2010.
The Health Ministry’s subdirectorate for AIDS and sexually-transmitted disease control reported that the number of people who contracted HIV through sexual intercourse or intravenous drug use comprised 34 percent of new cases in 2010, down from 53 percent in 2005.
The number of people contracting the disease from heterosexual sexual intercourse in 2010 was 55 percent, up from 37 percent in 2005.
Husein Habsyi from the Pelita Ilmu Foundation, a non-governmental organization for HIV/AIDS, said that guidelines for home care were necessary.
“The guidelines should include systems, management, work mechanisms and relations with hospitals because patients may need to be referred when there are emergencies,” he said.
He added that home-based care should also be supported with proper infrastructure and funding sources, as many patients came from impoverished economic backgrounds.
He said his foundation had worked with 1,934 people with HIV/AIDS since 1994, 31 percent of whom came from poor families.
The Pelita Ilmu Foundation has set up a model of home-based care in Tebet, South Jakarta, where families can learn how to treat the family member with HIV/AIDS at home.
Husein said his foundation has also established the program in Merauke, Papua.
“I think we need to start the projects in areas where there are a large number of people living with HIV/AIDS, but only a small number of medical workers. With proper training, families and support groups can take care of the patients,” he said.
Zubairi Djoerban from the University of Indonesia’s School of Medicine said that in order to give home-based treatment, caregivers should receive training on how to handle people with HIV/AIDS because of the possibility of transmission.
“Usually patients have bleeding scars on their back or urinate on their beds. Since HIV/AIDS can be transmitted through body liquids and blood, caregivers should always wear gloves,” he said.
He said that in developed countries, home-based care for people with HIV/AIDS had mostly started with hospice services for people with incurable illnesses. He said the successful regime of antiretroviral (ARV) medicine had made home-based care unnecessary.
“In Indonesia, however, there is still a chance for home-based care because patients often [seek medical treatment] at a late stage. By then, if they are treated in hospital, the costs are often too expensive. This is how home-based care can be a solution,” he said.
He also said there were cases where nurses accidentally punctured themselves with needles used to take blood from people with HIV/AIDS.
Zubairi said that the ratio of such accidents is two in 10,000 cases.
“Everyone should always conduct safe and proper procedures when taking care of HIV/AIDS patients,” he said.