Cargando…

Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study

The study explored how older adults experience an HIV diagnosis, deal with issues of stigma and disclosure, and navigate the healthcare system. Descriptive phenomenology was used to collect data from 20 older adults receiving antiretroviral treatment in health facilities in Gauteng Province, South A...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Hlongwane, Naomi, Madiba, Sphiwe
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7460377/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32796518
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165797
_version_ 1783576587550064640
author Hlongwane, Naomi
Madiba, Sphiwe
author_facet Hlongwane, Naomi
Madiba, Sphiwe
author_sort Hlongwane, Naomi
collection PubMed
description The study explored how older adults experience an HIV diagnosis, deal with issues of stigma and disclosure, and navigate the healthcare system. Descriptive phenomenology was used to collect data from 20 older adults receiving antiretroviral treatment in health facilities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Data analysis was inductive and followed the thematic approach. After diagnosis with HIV, the older adults experienced shock and disbelief, internalized their new reality of being HIV-positive, and found it difficult to disclose their HIV status. Stigma was embedded in their patterns of disclosure, and they chose not to disclose in order to manage stigma, protect their status, and maintain their privacy. Moreover, nondisclosure allowed them to achieve some normality in their lives without the fear of rejection. The older adults adopted various survival skills that aided them to accept their HIV status. Self-acceptance was important for the older adults who did not want to feel cheated out of life by the HIV diagnosis. The positive supportive attitudes of the healthcare professionals provided the much-needed support network for the older adults immediately after they had received their HIV test results. This was instrumental in their acceptance of their HIV status, their adherence to clinic visits, and their ability to live a healthy, positive life.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-7460377
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2020
publisher MDPI
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-74603772020-09-02 Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study Hlongwane, Naomi Madiba, Sphiwe Int J Environ Res Public Health Article The study explored how older adults experience an HIV diagnosis, deal with issues of stigma and disclosure, and navigate the healthcare system. Descriptive phenomenology was used to collect data from 20 older adults receiving antiretroviral treatment in health facilities in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Data analysis was inductive and followed the thematic approach. After diagnosis with HIV, the older adults experienced shock and disbelief, internalized their new reality of being HIV-positive, and found it difficult to disclose their HIV status. Stigma was embedded in their patterns of disclosure, and they chose not to disclose in order to manage stigma, protect their status, and maintain their privacy. Moreover, nondisclosure allowed them to achieve some normality in their lives without the fear of rejection. The older adults adopted various survival skills that aided them to accept their HIV status. Self-acceptance was important for the older adults who did not want to feel cheated out of life by the HIV diagnosis. The positive supportive attitudes of the healthcare professionals provided the much-needed support network for the older adults immediately after they had received their HIV test results. This was instrumental in their acceptance of their HIV status, their adherence to clinic visits, and their ability to live a healthy, positive life. MDPI 2020-08-11 2020-08 /pmc/articles/PMC7460377/ /pubmed/32796518 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165797 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Hlongwane, Naomi
Madiba, Sphiwe
Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study
title Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study
title_full Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study
title_fullStr Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study
title_full_unstemmed Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study
title_short Navigating Life with HIV as an Older Adult in South African Communities: A Phenomenological Study
title_sort navigating life with hiv as an older adult in south african communities: a phenomenological study
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7460377/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32796518
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165797
work_keys_str_mv AT hlongwanenaomi navigatinglifewithhivasanolderadultinsouthafricancommunitiesaphenomenologicalstudy
AT madibasphiwe navigatinglifewithhivasanolderadultinsouthafricancommunitiesaphenomenologicalstudy