scholarly journals Information behaviour of HIV patients during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Georgia

Author(s):  
Besiki Stvilia ◽  
◽  
Ketevan Stvilia ◽  
Izoleta Bodokia ◽  
◽  
...  

Introduction. In this study, we examined the information behaviour of people living with HIV during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Georgia. The research took place before COVID-19 vaccines were available. Methods. We conducted semi-structured interviews with fifteen participants. Analysis. The content of interviews was analysed for a priori and emergent themes and iteratively categorized. In addition, we used k-means clustering to identify the types of information users. Results. People living with HIV used government AIDS and CDC centres, primary care physicians, television, websites and their personal networks as their information sources. Some participants reported that receiving COVID-19 information increased their stress levels. Threats to their privacy and the fear of disclosing their HIV-positive status were identified as some of the barriers to seeking and sharing information they encountered. Three types of information users were identified: Netizens, Traditionalists and Lurkers. Conclusions. The findings of this study can be used to help design effective health communication campaigns and information systems for people living with HIV in general and to provide COVID-19 information in particular.

Author(s):  
I. Dmitruk

The paper analyzes the experience of people’s, infected by HIV, loneliness as an existential category and as a part of all their spectrum of feelings and experiences. The central existential problem for people with HIV-positive status is social and interpersonal isolation, which brings to loneliness. There are no publications that highlight the loneliness of people, who lives with HIV, through the prism of an existential approach. The article also considers the problem of stigmatization, self-stigmatization and isolation of HIV-infected individuals. The situation is aggravated by the fact that terminally ill people not only experience negative emotions, but also realize their own guilt for infecting their illness, feel shame because of the negative social status of the "sinful" disease. People with HIV are a special subculture in our society; they often consider themselves as outcasts. Thanks to this research, the subjective meanings that have people with HIV put into the concept of loneliness are revealed. The author did her own semantic differential, which was helped in finding differences in the experience and understanding of loneliness by hypochondriacal people who are afraid of infecting HIV, as well as persons with a positive HIV status. The results of two groups were statistically handled by using factor analysis. As a result the components of the loneliness category for the control (hypochondriac) and experimental (people infected by HIV) groups were picked out. Eventually, hypochondriacal people actualize loneliness through the following factors: "anxiety-depression", "hopelessness" and "vulnerability". In turn, people with HIV-positive status, see loneliness through: "despair", "disgust" (directed both at oneself and at the outside world), and "rejection". The results can be explained by the fact that persons with HIV infection have already felt the consequences of social isolation and loneliness, therefore they describe themselves as outcasts, despair and disgust both to themselves and to others. While people who only afraid of contracting HIV predict this can lead to anxiety, hopelessness and vulnerability. However, the selected components are rather situational than a priori, so the picture may change somewhat upon repeated investigation.


Somatechnics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 233-253
Author(s):  
Eli Manning

Since the pharmaceutical turn, using HIV treatment to prevent transmission is increasingly common. Treatment as Prevention®, or TasP, has relied on HIV treatment to prevent HIV transmission, targeting people living with HIV. However, TasP is predicated on troublesome heterosexist, classist, and racist medical practices borrowed from various times and spaces that enact biopolitical and necropolitical relations. This paper discusses the debate surrounding the first clinical trial that used HIV treatment to prevent transmission from woman-to-foetus. The 1994 landmark AIDS Clinical Trials Group 076 study laid the groundwork for using HIV treatment to prevent HIV transmission, the essential precursor to TasP. By examining the concerns of HIV positive women of colour and other AIDS activists, we are able to understand the ethical dilemmas and practical consequences that still haunt today's game-changing uses of HIV treatment for prevention and to see how biopolitics and necropolitics persist in TasP.


Author(s):  
Chia-Hui Yu ◽  
Chu-Yu Huang ◽  
Nai-Ying Ko ◽  
Heng-Hsin Tung ◽  
Hui-Man Huang ◽  
...  

People living with HIV (PLWH) face social stigma which makes disclosure of HIV status difficult. The purpose of this descriptive qualitative study was to understand the lived experiences of stigmatization in the process of disease disclosure among PLWH in Taiwan. Analysis of the semi-structured interviews from 19 PLWH in Taiwan revealed two phases and six themes. Phase one “experiences before disclosure” involved three themes: “Struggles under the pressure of concealing the HIV Status,” “Torn between fear of unemployment/isolation and desire to protect closed ones,” and “Being forced to disclose the HIV status.” Phase two “experiences after disclosure” included three themes: “Receiving special considerations and requirements from school or work,” “Receiving differential treatments in life and when seeking medical care,” and “Stress relief and restart.” Healthcare professionals need to assess stigmatization in PLWH and develop individualized approaches to assist with the disease disclosure process.


2009 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 475-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Nafula Kuria

AbstractObjectiveTo establish the food consumption, dietary habits and nutritional status of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and adults whose HIV status is not established.DesignCross-sectional descriptive survey.SettingThika and Bungoma Districts, Kenya.SubjectsA random sample of 439 adults; 174 adults living with HIV/AIDS and 265 adults whose HIV/AIDS status was not established in Thika and Bungoma Districts.ResultsMajority of PLWHA consume foods that are low in nutrients to build up the immune system and help maintain adequate weight, and there is little variety in the foods they consume. More adults who are HIV-positive are undernourished than those whose status is not established. Of the HIV-positive adults, those with a BMI of ≤18·5 kg/m2 were 23·6 % (Thika 20·0 % and Bungoma 25·7 %) while of the adults whose status is not established those with BMI ≤ 18·5 kg/m2 were 13·9 % (Thika 9·3 % and Bungoma 16·7 %).ConclusionsAdults who are HIV-positive are more likely to be undernourished than those whose status is not established, as there is a significant difference (P = 0·000) between the nutritional status (BMI) of PLWHA and those whose HIV/AIDS status is not established. PLWHA consume foods that are low in nutrients to promote their nutritional well-being and health.


Author(s):  
Mary Jo Dorsey ◽  
Ellen Detlefsen

Objective – To describe preliminary findings from a study of information-seeking behaviors of primary care physicians who care for elderly and depressed patients, and the correlation between what is sought versus what is provided to the patient and (or) caregiver. Setting – Physicians in two large ambulatory primary care practices throughout urban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, who take care of geriatric patients. Methods – Structured interviews, with common questions, will be conducted with 12 primary care physicians to determine patterns of information-seeking behaviors. Environmental scans of physicians' offices for evidence of their existing information behaviors will complement the information obtained from the interviews. Results – This pilot study provides an analysis of the resources primary care physicians use to seek information to provide to patients and caregivers. Analyses show types of information sought, time spent seeking information, and methods used to find information given to patients. Conclusions – With mounting evidence of the Internet being used for patient self care, it is essential to understand if primary care physicians understand the scope and breadth of information readily available to their patients. The primary care physician needs to be aware of the types of information made available to their patients and the caregivers who are inclined to obtain information for the patient.


2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-55
Author(s):  
Cristina Micali ◽  
Ylenia Russotto ◽  
Grazia Caci ◽  
Manuela Ceccarelli ◽  
Andrea Marino ◽  
...  

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accounts for approximately 75–90% of primary liver cancers and is the sixth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. In the HIV-positive population, the risk of HCC is approximately four times higher than in the general population, with higher cancer-specific mortality than in HIV-negative patients. In most cases, HCC diagnosis is made in patients younger than the HIV-negative population and in the intermediate-advanced stage, thus limiting the therapeutic possibilities. Treatment choice in HIV-positive patients with HCC is subject to cancer staging, liver function and health status, as for HIV-negative and non-HIV-negative HCC patients. There are relatively few studies on the efficacy and safety in HIV-positive patients to date in loco-regional treatments for HCC. So far, literature shows that curative treatments such as radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have no significant differences in overall survival between HIV-positive and HIV-negative patients, as opposed to palliative treatments such as TACE, where there is a significant difference in overall survival. Although it can be assumed that the most recently discovered loco-regional therapies are applicable to HIV-positive patients with HCC in the same way as HIV-negative patients, further studies are needed to confirm this hypothesis. The purpose of our review is to evaluate these treatments, their efficacy, effectiveness, safety and their applicability to HIV-positive patients.


Author(s):  
Godwin Aondohemba Timiun ◽  
Timothy J. Scrase

In spite the identification of stigma as a factor impeding public utilisation of HIV counselling, testing, and treatment services in Nigeria, gaps still exist in knowledge on the impact of stigma, and discrimination on adherence to medication amongst people living with HIV (PLWH). This study adopted mixed methods to examine the impact of stigma and discrimination on adherence to medication amongst PLWH in Nigeria.  A sample of 1,621 respondents was collected using multi-stage and purposive sampling methods. Structured interviews using questionnaires and in-depth interviews (using a guide) were utilised for data collection. SPSS (version 21) was used for quantitative data analysis while the qualitative data was analysed thematically. There are 46.3% men and 53.7% women respondents. Generally, their income is low, 70.7% are earning less than N25, 000 (approximately $125 USD) per month. Some of the HIV patients are stigmatised. In reaction, they avoid public places, travel long distances away from their immediate community to collect drugs and to avoid been noticed around the centers. They sometimes miss taking drugs regularly as prescribed, suffer depression and die. Stigma and discrimination impede adherence to medication amongst PLHW in Nigeria. More efforts should be made to create awareness to reduce stigma and discrimination of HIV patients, while augmenting their income to meet up with the challenges of adherence to medication. The overall benefits would be enhanced mechanism of HIV prevention, treatment and control in the study area.


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