Psychosocial care for HIV-infected individuals in Russia.

The relatively small number of people known to be infected with HIV in Russia together with the absence of large numbers of affected people does not help to increase awareness of HIV infection as a social problem. This results in almost non-existent organized care systems for psychosocial support. Characteristics of psychosocial stress in HIV-infected individuals in Russia were studied over 3 years and ways to overcome it were examined.