HAART is HIV/AIDS therapy, composed of multiple anti-HIV drugs, that are prescribed to many HIV-positive people. HAART has contributed to significant decreases in the mortality and morbidity of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

All HIV-positive people, their families, friends, and the health care professionals working with them know how important taking HAART is, and how difficult taking HAART can be.

Large quantities of pills have to be taken as scheduled. The side effects can be intense: nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss, body fat redistribution, muscle wasting and sleep disturbances to name but a few. For people on a cocktail of medication, it is very important not to miss doses, as the HIV virus can quickly mutate leading to drug resistance. Adherence to this drug-dosing schedule is both critical and almost impossible for some individuals.

Recent studies have shown that the single biggest contributor to a person’s ability to take HAART is their ‘social capacity’ (Ibanez-Carrasco & Kerr, 2002; Zelee-Hill, Kendall, & Fernandez, 2003).

Social Capacity considers the combination of a person’s skills, coping mechanisms, community support and other access to internal and external resources, in forming the foundation of their ability to survive and prosper. Imagine, for a moment, taking HAART if you have no family and friends, are homeless, have low self-esteem, are impoverished and living with the consequences of addiction? Only 24% of the HIV-positive population in the downtown eastside of Vancouver are taking HAART (Tyndale, 2003).

The Dr. Peter Centre Day Health Program is committed to changing those statistics. The Day Health Program leads to connection, acceptance and engagement, and provide opportunities for participants to take HAART.

The Day Health Program provides comprehensive nursing services to meet the needs of participants. The service delivery is based on a model of self-care that encourages participants to be the “experts in their own care”. In practice, this approach acknowledges that the participant decides what they need to meet their own requirements for health.

The Day Health Program care team develops therapeutic relationships with participants and creates diverse options to meet the challenges of day-to-day life, to support personal resiliency and to build capacity within community.

The Dr. Peter Centre mandate is to foster autonomy, empowerment and independence to increase the quality of participants’ lives and connection to the community… building social capacity. Showing heart is the key to building social capacity. Having HAART is the key to survival.