The lived experience of HIV-infected patients in the face of a positive diagnosis of the disease: a phenomenological study

The effect of HIV on patients' lives: a phenomenological qualitative study

INTRODUCTION

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection poses a significant threat to the immune system, compromising the body's ability to combat diseases and infections. The Ministry of Health in Saudi Arabia reported an HIV incidence rate of 3 cases per 10,000 individuals. This study aimed to gain insight into the lived experience of Saudi patients living with HIV.

METHODS

Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study conducted in-depth interviews with 16 HIV patients (10 men, 6 women) between January 2023 and May 2023.

RESULTS

Thematic data analysis highlighted three overarching themes and four subthemes. "Fear of the Future" encompassed subthemes including the fear of infecting a family member, fear of marriage, fear of employment recruitment, and fear of scandals. "Hopelessness" reflected the profound emotional state experienced by patients. "Overcoming Adversity" captured the resilience and strength demonstrated by individuals facing the challenges of living with HIV.

CONCLUSION

Saudi patients diagnosed with HIV encounter numerous obstacles in their daily lives. The fear of the future, including concerns such as infecting family members, marriage prospects, employment opportunities, and potential social repercussions, significantly impacts their overall well-being. By understanding the lived experience of HIV patients in Saudi Arabia, healthcare providers and policymakers can better support and enhance the quality of life for this population.

The importance of self-management for better treatment outcomes for HIV patients in a low-income setting: perspectives of HIV experts and service providers

BACKGROUND

Self-management is the most important strategy to improve quality of life in patients with a chronic disease. Despite the increasing number of people living with HIV (PLWH) in low-income countries, very little research on self-management is conducted in this setting. The aim of this research is to understand the perspectives of service providers and experts on the importance of self-management for PLWH.

METHODS

A systematizing expert interview type of qualitative methodology was used to gain the perspectives of experts and service providers. The study participants had experience in researching, managing, or providing HIV service in east and southern African (ESA) countries. All the interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and translated to English. The quality of the transcripts was ensured by randomly checking the texts against the audio record. A thematic analysis approach supported by Atlas TI version 9 software.

RESULT

PLWH face a variety of multi-dimensional problems thematized under contextual and process dimensions. The problems identified under the contextual dimension include disease-specific, facility-related, and social environment-related. Problems with individual origin, such as ignorance, outweighing beliefs over scientific issues, low self-esteem, and a lack of social support, were mostly highlighted under the process dimensions. Those problems have a deleterious impact on self-management, treatment outcomes, and the quality of life of PLWH. Low self-management is also a result of professional-centered service delivery in healthcare facilities and health service providers' incapacity to comprehend a patient's need beyond the medical concerns. Participants in the study asserted that patients have a significant stake in enhancing treatment results and quality of life through enhancing self-management.

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

HIV patients face multifaceted problems beyond their medical issues. The success of medical treatment for HIV is strongly contingent upon patients' self-management practices and the supportive roles of their family, society, and health service providers. The development and integration of self-management practices into clinical care will benefit patients, their families, and the health system.

"Struggle against Bitter Life": Lived Experience of Iranian Nurses with HIV/AIDS

Objectives: The impact of HIV/AIDS on the healthcare system in many countries, particularly in developing countries is significant. Due to the high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in these countries, remarkable number of nurses have contracted HIV through their work. HIV/AIDS poses a major threat to people's physical and emotional health status as well as their social well-being and it has overwhelming effects on personal and social lives of HIV-positive people. HIV-positive nurses, like other patients, are subject to many stresses, but because of their special professional and social conditions they may bear more psychological and social burdens. Materials and methods: A hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to examine the everyday experiences of nurses who suffer HIV/AIDS. To conduct the study, six methodical steps which developed by van Manen (1990) applied in the process of the inquiry. Eight HIV-positive nurses were recruited and selected through a purposive sampling method. Data was collected by conducting 12 face-to-face in-depth semi-structured interviews with participants, two women and six men who became HIV-infected through occupational exposure. A thematic analysis method was used to extract themes and sub-themes. Results:Through thematic analysis of transcriptions, two main themes 'past, not passed' and 'struggle against bitter life' emerged. We found that the daily life of HIV/AIDS nurses is like a limbo between the past and the present. They are constantly trying to push themselves from this limbo of death to life. Conclusion:According to the results, participants were immersed in bitter memories of their past, which has always cast a dark shadow over their lives. Their lived space surrounded by many bitterness and adversities, yet they have the enthusiasm to move on with their lives and struggle day-to-day to maintain their relative health and have their job as a nurse. As result, management of HIV/AIDS is not only about fighting the virus, but it imposes many issues and problems on nurses, which should be given more attention and support.

The psychological and subjective experience of catatonia: a qualitative study

Background

Catatonia is a severe psychomotor disorder that presents as abnormality of movement which may also be excessive or severely slowed. It often inhibits communication when protracted or severe. In this study we investigated the emotive and cognitive experience of patients with catatonia during a prevalence study in an acute mental health unit from August 2020 to September 2021. The value of this study is the addition of the inner and often unexplored cognitive and emotive experience of patients in the description of the catatonic state, which lends an additional dimension to complement the medical and psychopathological descriptors that have been the focus of most studies on catatonia.

Methods

Ethical approval was received from the Nelson Mandela University Human Research Committee and convenience sampling was undertaken to recruit participants admitted into an acute mental health unit with catatonia, four to eight weeks after discharge, following admission. The BFCSI and BFCRS and a pre-designed data collection sheet were used to assess n = 241 participants, and collect data on descriptions of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours they experienced during the catatonic episode.

Results

Forty-four (18.3%) of the total 241 participants who were assessed had catatonia. Thirty (68.2%) of the 44 participants with catatonia provided data on their experience of catatonia. Twenty-three were males (76.7% of 30) and seven were females (23.3% of 30). All were within the age range of 17 to 65 years. The dominant themes of thoughts, feelings, and behaviors described centered around yearning for or missing loved ones, heightened fear, intense anxiety, negative affect, aggression, obedience, and withdrawal.

Conclusions

The common themes that emerged from this study were overwhelming anxiety, fear, and depression. These were found to occur frequently in patients with catatonia when describing their psychological experience. These experiences may possibly relate to the flight, fight, freeze and fawn response, as described in prior studies on the subjective experience of catatonia.

Trial registration: Not applicable.