"I will start treatment when I think the time is right"

HIV-positive gay men talk about their decision not to access antiretroviral therapy

Dados Bibliográficos

ID19443923
AutoresRon S Gold (Deakin University), Damien Ridge (0000-0001-9245-5958, Deakin University), D T Ridge (a Deakin University , Victoria , Australia)
Ano2001
Volume13
Fascículo6
Páginas693-708
Data de publicação2001-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoAIDS Care (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0954-0121 • E-ISSN: 1360-0451
EditoraInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/09540120120076869
PMID11720640
OpenAlexW1970777344
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas14
Referências citadas17

In a qualitative study, 20 HIV-infected Australian gay men were interviewed about their decision not to access antiretroviral drug therapy. The main reasons given for the decision were fear of side effects; fear of long-term damage to body organs; the inconvenience of the treatment regimens; belief that the regimen's demands would be a threat to morale; and belief that there was no reason to start therapy in the absence of AIDS-related symptoms. Actions taken by the men to monitor and maintain their health included seeing a doctor regularly; having regular T-cell and viral load tests; and trying to maintain a positive outlook by not letting HIV/AIDS 'take over' their lives. Almost half the men considered they had been subjected to unreasonable pressure to access therapy and there was considerable pride at having resisted this pressure. The findings suggest that the men disagreed with the biomedical model for managing HIV/AIDS only on the question of if and when to access therapy. They also suggest that underlying the men's dissent from the biomedical model was a different mode of thinking than is required by the model: while the model demands thinking that is abstract, the men focused strongly on factors close to the 'here and now' of immediate experience. The practical implications of the findings are explored

Alternative medicine · Antiretroviral therapy · Decision aids · Dissent · Family medicine · Pride · Psychotherapist · Regimen · Viral load · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Medicine · Psychology · Surgery