AEGiS-14IAC: Let's talk about the Big Thing: a narrative model of South African HIV support.

14th International AIDS Conference


Barcelona, Spain - July 7-12, 2002

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Let's talk about the Big Thing: a narrative model of South African HIV support.

Int Conf AIDS 2002 Jul 7-12; 14:(abstract no. LbOr06)

Squire C, Daniel L
University of East London, London, United Kingdom

ISSUES: About 1 in 9 South Africans live with HIV. With relatively highly developed infrastructure, health and social services, the country is an important model for African HIV strategies. After initial silence and stigma, awareness and service development are increasing and will expand following recent government decisions to roll out some treatments. However, HIV support services remain limited, and open communication about HIV is still problematic.

DESCRIPTION: In 2001, 33 semi-structured interviews about HIV support experiences, expectations and requirements were conducted with people infected or affected (3) by HIV, 4/5 of them women, recruited through HIV service organisations, clinics and chain referral. In May 2002 followup telephone interviews were conducted with a subsample. Interviews were content- and narrative-analysed to ascertain types of support used, wanted and valued, and narrative forms deployed.

ISSUES: Interviewees valued non-time-limited peer support, especially combined with skills-building and income generation; peri-diagnostic counsellor support; employment support; and family (rather than friendship) support. They showed good knowledge of medical support and sophisticated strategies for maximising treatment opportunities. These evaluations were encoded in a range of culturally powerful story genres that drew on popular media, religion, traditional medicine, and political struggle.

RECOMMENDATIONS: HIV positive, negative and unknown-status South Africans would benefit from extensive strategic development of diverse, open and ongoing communities of interpretive support, including virtual, media 'communities,' that promote multiple genres of HIV storytelling. Such storytelling 'communities' can encourage disclosing and non-disclosing acceptance, testing, risk reduction and treatment adherence, especially when operating alongside treatment opportunities and training and employment schemes.

Keywords: AEGIS, HIV Infections, HIV Seropositivity, African Continental Ancestry Group, Family, Interviews, Risk Reduction Behavior, Human, FemaleKWDaegis,hivinfections,hivseropositivity,africancontinentalancestrygroup,family,interviews,riskreductionbehavior,human,female

020707
LbOr06

Copyright © 2002 - International AIDS Society (IAS). Reproduction of this abstract (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the IAS.