HIV-related stigma is widely regarded as a key impediment to effective prevention and care. The purpose of this study was to explore HIV-infected women outpatients' experiences of stigma and the coping strategies that they devised to deal with it. Six HIV-infected women receiving antiretroviral treatment from the Nthabiseng Clinic of the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital participated in this qualitative study. HIV-related stigma was experienced by all the participants and was narrated as a sense of loss that gave rise to feelings of fear and shame. To cope with this, the women isolated themselves, became secretive about their health, disclosed strategically, and enlisted support. The elements of stigma and the coping strategies employed as uncovered in this study suggest a basis from which interventions aimed at assisting HIV-infected people to deal with stigma can be planned.
The aim of this study was to understand how AIDS-bereaved women in Indonesia cope in a society where death is believed to be fated. Data analyses were conducted based on the women’s interview transcripts and journal entries. Each of the women experienced at least three traumatic life events. The most challenging experience was learning that they have contracted a disease they regarded as associated with prostitution. Given the short lapse of time between their husbands’ deaths and learning about their seropositivity, biographical disruption appeared to have acted as an ‘analgesic’, while concerns to protect their children seemed to have triggered biographical reinforcement. This phenomenon may have brought about a positive bereavement outcome. Specific counselling programmes for women affected by HIV/AIDS are needed, but emphasis should first be placed on improving their wellbeing and their perception of stigma.
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