‘Doing the right thing’: The symbolic meanings and experiences of having an HIV antibody test

Lupton, Deborah; McCarthy, Sophie; Chapman, Simon

doi:10.1016/0277-9536(94)00317-m

Cited by 56 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…35 HIV testing can symbolise commitment to a relationship and the abandoning of safer sex. 9 Treatment for some other STDs reduces the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. [81][82][83] Homosexual men have been shown to adapt their sexual practices according to each other's HIV status ("negotiated safety" 4 ).…”

Section: Douche (Vaginal or Anal)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 Many of the options in table 1 are not usually considered as STD avoidance measures because they have more obvious agendas such as paternity guarantee or religious meaning. While the wide adoption of some would probably reduce the incidence of some STDs-for example, female infibulation, they would be unlikely to receive wider acceptance.…”

Section: Douche (Vaginal or Anal)mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The repertoire of human efforts to avoid sexually transmissible diseases: past and present Part 1: Strategies used before or instead of sex

Donovan¹

2000

Sexually Transmitted Infections

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Background/objective: Despite the focus by public health programmes on condoms, chastity, or monogamy, people use a much wider variety of strategies to minimise their personal risk of sexually transmissible disease (STD). The objective of this study was to compile a comprehensive list of personal and societal STD avoidance strategies. Methods: Data from clinical and research observations, computer searches, and historical texts were pooled. Results: In addition to discriminating between potential sexual partners, a variety of behaviours before or instead of sex were identified that have been perceived to alter STD risk. Traditional STD avoidance strategies were often poorly documented and diYcult to disentangle from other drives such as the maintenance of social order, paternity guarantee, and eugenics. They also varied in popularity in time and place. Some examples were displacement activities such as masturbation or exercise, circumcision, infibulation, shaving, vaccination, or requiring partners to be tested for infection. Social and moral forces typically discourage non-marital sex, and this aVects most people most of the time but few people all of the time. Conclusion:The full spectrum of STD avoidance strategies warrants further study because some are ubiquitous across cultures and because they have the potential to complement or undermine safer sex programmes. Because of their greater acceptability, some less eYcacious strategies may have greater public health importance than less popular but more eYcacious strategies such as condoms. (Sex Transm Inf 2000;76:7-12)

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Section: Douche (Vaginal or Anal)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Douche (Vaginal or Anal)mentioning

confidence: 99%

The repertoire of human efforts to avoid sexually transmissible diseases: past and present Part 1: Strategies used before or instead of sex

Donovan¹

2000

Sexually Transmitted Infections

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“…Clients, however, may not focus on elaborating specific risks or other problems during the session. As previous research has documented, clients are often at pains to present themselves as a responsible and knowledgeable healthcare consumer (Lupton et al 1995, Sheon 1999. For instance, clients typically frame their decision to seek HIV testing as a routine that is 'the right thing to do' rather than as a problem requiring counselling.…”

Section: The Institutional Context Of Hiv Testing and The Counsellingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reasons for testing discussed throughout these studies included partners who posed a risk of HIV transmission, desire to use testing as a method of motivating behaviour change, access to medical treatments, and a sense of ritual and general health maintenance ( cf. Facente 2004, Lupton et al 1995. While it is often recognised that understanding reasons for testing is important for guiding HIV prevention (Kellerman et al 2002), these studies do not provide an understanding of how the discussion of clients' reasons for testing can shape the process of HIV test counselling per se ( cf.…”

Section: The 'Reason For Testing' Slotmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reasonableness is portrayed through the normality of testing: a reasonable and responsible person gets tested relatively regularly, tends to avoid risky behaviours, and takes care of their HIV health on a routine basis regardless of life events ( cf. Lupton et al 1995, Sheon 1999. By constructing the routine nature of their testing, clients engage in presenting what kind of person they are.…”

Section: Routinising Testingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responsibility and risk: accounts of reasons for seeking an HIV test

Lee

Sheon

2007

Sociology Health & Illness

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Using data from recordings of HIV test counselling sessions in publicly funded sites in Northern California, US, this paper examines the discussion of clients' reasons for testing as a site for self-presentation. While counsellors attempt to use the reason for testing discussion as a lead-in to a discussion of risk behaviour, clients often describe their testing as part of a routine, not in response to a specific risk. Clients use three practices to present themselves as reasonable and responsible people who are in control of their HIV status. First, clients present the normal and routine nature of testing, thereby portraying their reasonableness in seeking an HIV test. Secondly, clients deny or downgrade their risk when counsellors seek to identify a specific risk. Thirdly, when introducing a particular risk, clients package it within mitigating contexts that emphasise their knowledge about and control over the risk. These practices can make it difficult for counsellors to focus the counselling session on a specific risk incident. One of the counsellors in our dataset provides an alternative approach that manages to elicit risk and legitimates routine testing as a reason for testing.

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References

2002

Psychosexual Nursing

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‘Doing the right thing’: The symbolic meanings and experiences of having an HIV antibody test

Cited by 56 publications

References 18 publications

The repertoire of human efforts to avoid sexually transmissible diseases: past and present Part 1: Strategies used before or instead of sex

The repertoire of human efforts to avoid sexually transmissible diseases: past and present Part 1: Strategies used before or instead of sex

Responsibility and risk: accounts of reasons for seeking an HIV test

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