Pursuing Treatment and Moral Worth: HIV-Infected Women in a Northern Province of Vietnam Living With Antiretroviral Therapy

TY - JOUR

T1 - Pursuing Treatment and Moral Worth

T2 - HIV-Infected Women in a Northern Province of Vietnam Living With Antiretroviral Therapy

AU - Nguyen, Nam Thi Thu

AU - Rasch, Vibeke

AU - Bygbjerg, Ib Christian

AU - Mogensen, Hanne Overgaard

PY - 2012/7/1

Y1 - 2012/7/1

N2 - There is a need to understand how social and cultural expectations of being a woman shape the challenges women face when trying to access antiretroviral therapy (ART) and to continue the treatment over time. Based on a 7-month prospective study of 15 HIV-infected women, the particular challenges met by these women in northern Vietnam are discussed in this article. We argued that, by taking ART to maintain their health and to fulfill their responsibilities to family and community, the women managed to reclaim the " moral worth" they had lost as a result of having HIV infection. At the same time, certain social and economic contingencies related to ART made it difficult for the women to uphold this moral position. The study demonstrated the importance of understanding the meanings and implications of ART in specific social contexts to understand how social support structures could be established to ensure treatment continuation.

AB - There is a need to understand how social and cultural expectations of being a woman shape the challenges women face when trying to access antiretroviral therapy (ART) and to continue the treatment over time. Based on a 7-month prospective study of 15 HIV-infected women, the particular challenges met by these women in northern Vietnam are discussed in this article. We argued that, by taking ART to maintain their health and to fulfill their responsibilities to family and community, the women managed to reclaim the " moral worth" they had lost as a result of having HIV infection. At the same time, certain social and economic contingencies related to ART made it difficult for the women to uphold this moral position. The study demonstrated the importance of understanding the meanings and implications of ART in specific social contexts to understand how social support structures could be established to ensure treatment continuation.

KW - Adherence

KW - Families

KW - HIV treatment

KW - Morality

KW - Self-help groups

KW - Stigma

KW - Vietnam

KW - Women's health

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84862230813&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.jana.2011.06.006

DO - 10.1016/j.jana.2011.06.006

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 21930400

AN - SCOPUS:84862230813

SN - 1055-3290

VL - 23

SP - 339

EP - 349

JO - Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

JF - Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

IS - 4

ER -