Empathic love therapy for adolescents living with HIV in Surabaya, Indonesia

Introduction: Adolescents with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) do not only experience physical pain. They are also vulnerable to psychological stress. One of the emotional problems impacting adolescents is depression, as taking life-long medications makes teens depressed. One of non-pharmacological therapies that can be applied is empathic love therapy (ELT). This study was to determine the effectiveness of ELT for adolescents living with HIV in Surabaya, Indonesia. Material and methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted among 240 HIV-positive adolescents. A sample of 150 respondents was divided into 2 sub-groups, i.e., control and intervention groups, using simple random sampling technique. Data were collected by administering depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) questionnaire and medication adherence questionnaire. Results: The results were analyzed using Wilcoxon test, and revealed a significant difference in depression, anxiety, and stress levels between pre-test and post-test results, with p-value of 0.000 (p < 0.05). Similarly, the results of Wilcoxon test showed that p-value for medication adherence was 0.000 (p < 0.05). Conclusions: ELT is effective in adolescents with HIV in reducing depression and improving medication adherence.