Coping strategies and social support after receiving HIV-positive results at a South African district hospital.

To the Editor: Little is known in South Africa about patients’ coping strategies when they hear that they are HIV-positive. Some are devastated, others seem hardly to react, and health workers also frequently report that their clients are in denial. Insight into how patients cope with such drastic news may help health workers to appreciate the different responses and be more supportive of patients’ coping strategies.