Document Detail


Illness meanings of AIDS among women with HIV: merging immunology and life experience.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  19299752     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
Little attention has been paid to illness meanings held by those with HIV in the presence of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART). This article illustrates how elucidating illness meanings might aid our understanding of HAART adherence and other important health behaviors. Using multiple qualitative methods, including in-depth interviews, free lists, and drawings, I explore meanings surrounding the concept of AIDS among women with HIV in New Orleans, Louisiana. Illness meanings of AIDS reflect the women's negotiation of physical, social, and emotional threats posed by HIV. HIV-positive women displace death and stigma away from an HIV diagnosis to an AIDS diagnosis, creating a sense of safety and normalcy for themselves. Women with AIDS diagnoses, however, struggle to construct illness meanings of AIDS that resist its association with ostracism and death. Drawings produced by the women provide rich insights and illustrate the value of drawings as a visual method in exploring illness meanings.
Authors:
Alison Scott
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Qualitative health research     Volume:  19     ISSN:  1049-7323     ISO Abbreviation:  Qual Health Res     Publication Date:  2009 Apr 
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2009-03-20     Completed Date:  2009-06-17     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9202144     Medline TA:  Qual Health Res     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  454-65     Citation Subset:  T    
Affiliation:
Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia, USA.
Export Citation:
APA/MLA Format     Download EndNote     Download BibTex
MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / drug therapy,  immunology,  psychology*
Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active
Female
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Humans
Interviews as Topic
New Orleans
Qualitative Research
Women / psychology*
Young Adult

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


Previous Document:  Pathologizing or validating: intake workers' discursive constructions of mothers.
Next Document:  Muscle gains and emotional strains: conflicting experiences of change among overweight women partici...