"HIV Changed My Life Forever": An Illustrative Case of a Sub-Saharan African Migrant Woman Living with HIV in Belgium.

Agnes Arrey,Patrick Lacor,Reginald Deschepper,Johan Bilsen

doi:10.3390/tropicalmed2020012

Agnes Arrey, Patrick Lacor + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/tropicalmed2020012

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Abstract

Living with HIV and AIDS changes everything for people diagnosed with HIV and it can be the most difficult experience in life. Like most people who have chronic diseases, these individuals have to deal with living a normal and quality life. Globally, more women (51%) than men are HIV positive. The main aim of this paper was to describe a sub-Saharan African migrant woman’s lived experience, and also to use the individual’s story to raise questions about the larger context after a HIV diagnosis. A qualitative study consisting of a personal story of a HIV-infected sub-Saharan African living in Belgium was conducted. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. The main themes that emerged from the data included relational risks, personal transformation and the search for normality, anxiety, depression, fear of stigma, societal gender norms, and support. The participant reported that marriage was no guarantee of staying HIV-free, especially in a male-dominant culture. This case further illustrates that married and unmarried African women are often at high risk of HIV and also informs us how HIV could spread, not only because of cultural practices but also because of individual behaviour and responses to everyday life situations. The participant also emphasized that she is faced with physical and mental health problems that are typical of people living with HIV. The vulnerability of sub-Saharan African women to HIV infection and their precarious health-related environments wherever they happen to be is further elucidated by this case.

Highlights

An estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV, of which about 51% are women [1]
Major themes that emerged from P’s story included: voluntary HIV testing; shock and indignation after a positive diagnosis; marriage as a risk factor of HIV infection; and mental health stressors of depression, blame and suicidal ideation living with HIV
This paper is grounded on the narrative of the longest living HIV patient who participated in a larger study on the experiences of sub-Saharan African migrant women living with HIV in Belgium, which was done between April 2014 and December 2015

Summary

Introduction

An estimated 36.7 million people are living with HIV, of which about 51% are women [1]. Living with HIV and AIDS changes everything for people diagnosed with HIV and it can be the most difficult experience in life [2,3]. Like most people with chronic diseases, these individuals have to deal with living a normal and quality life. In addition to HIV, there are many socio-economic and cultural factors such as poverty, fragile family structures, stigma and discrimination that people from low-resource and high prevalence regions like sub-Saharan Africa have to wrestle with in order to maintain quality of life wherever they live [10,11]

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