Resumen
It is estimated that over thirty-five million people around the world live with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), and over 71% live in sub-Saharan Africa. Despite scientific gains in HIV prevention, Uganda is still one of the countries seriously affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. HIV is a highly stigmatized disease with social ridicule and discrimination, leading to depression, trauma, and severe mental health problems. Despite the scientific discoveries and knowledge, we know very little about pathways to resiliency and empowerment adolescents employ to manage the disease. Utilizing resilience theory, the study explored adolescents’ lived experiences and the processes of responding to adversity and building resilience after HIV diagnosis among youth ages 18 to 24 living with HIV in Uganda. We used a qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach (IPA) to collect data using semi-structured interviews with six focus groups (
N=31) and analyze them using the grounded theory method. Participants included young men, women, men having sex with men (MSM), sex workers, and perinatally infected young people who receive services at a local private and government-run clinic. The findings indicate that adolescents living with HIV went through several pathways in their HIV experiences: from denial to despair, suicidal ideation, substance use, and developing resilience which were seldom linear. In this study, we present the framework of resilience to empowerment among youth with HIV and discuss the implications for researchers, healthcare providers, advocates, and policymakers to develop interventions to bolster individuals’ inherent determination to be better and overcome the social, physical, and health headwinds that stand in the way of those with HIV.
Palabras Clave (separar con comas)
Resiliency, empowerment, HIV/AIDS, Sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda