Re-appraising HIV Testing among Scottish Gay Men: The Impact of New HIV Treatments

Abstract

This paper explores Scottish gay men's understandings of HIV testing within the context of changes stemming from the availability of new treatments for HIV. Transcripts of one-toone interviews with 18 gay men were analysed together with those from four focus groups (n= 19) concerning HIV testing, HIV status and HIV risk management. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was employed to identify recurrent themes. We focus upon a rise of HIV-optimism, risk-complacency and HIV fatigue and chart the apparent transformation of HIV diagnosis from 'death sentence' to 'life sentence'. In turn, we explore how these changes have impacted upon HIV testing. As HIV management becomes increasingly medicalized, we highlight the ongoing need to attend to psychological and social issues.

Electronic aids to daily living: be able to do what you want

“…Descriptive phenomenology generates a rich description of the phenomenon under investigation, which in this instance was the experience of living with and utilising EADL 31 . While semi-structured interview is the traditional phenomenological data collection method, focus groups have also been found useful 32,33 and were selected for this preliminary study. Focus groups are useful tools in both disability and AT research [34][35][36][37] .…”

Living with HIV in regional Queensland: social ties, care and support in managing a long-term complex chronic illness

“…Breaks were taken to ease the effects of lipoatrophy, reduce the external and internalized stigma, and to create a window of opportunity to meet potential partners. These findings resonate with Flowers and colleagues' qualitative study (2001) with positive gay men in Scotland [179]. In that study, long-term positive gay men discussed managing complex drug regimens (as opposed to a single pill a day) and experiencing treatment as contributing to poorer rather than greater wellbeing (changing body shape, changing one's personality, making one sick) [179].…”

“…Given the inequities in health access and outcomes, we need to move the discussion around the non-treatment beyond focusing on individual choices, to include a greater consideration of social and structural factors. There is a need for a greater consideration of these broader factors, in particular within the increasing biomedicalization of HIV (introduction of TasP and PrEP) [26,78,179]. Unless these broader factors are addressed and support services made available to those who needed them, greater ART adherence is unlikely.…”

Saisir l’expérience : présentation de l’analyse phénoménologique interprétative comme méthodologie qualitative en psychologie

“…Aïni, Curelli & Antoine, 2010). Les chercheurs considèrent avec prudence que les résultats peuvent diverger mais que la dynamique d'un groupe participe à la richesse des données (Flowers, Duncan & Knussen, 2003 ;Flowers, Knussen & Duncan, 2001). D'autres expriment des réserves car la dynamique d'un groupe n'est pas exempte de pressions vers la conformité ni d'effets de dominance de certains membres sur les autres (Smith, 2004).…”