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- Title
"They Kept Away": Social Isolation of Cisgender Women Living with HIV in Hyderabad, India.
- Authors
Azhar, Sameena; Gandham, Sabitha; Vaudrey, Jason; Oruganti, Ganesh; Samuel, Revina Suhasini
- Abstract
Social isolation of cisgender women living with HIV has been recognized as a barrier to early detection of the virus, disclosure of HIV status to partners, and access to healthcare and social work services. The goal of this study is to explore how social isolation and depression affect cisgender women living with HIV in Hyderabad, India. Sixteen cisgender women living with HIV were asked to complete in-depth interviews regarding their experiences with HIV stigma and depression. All interviews were digitally audio-recorded in Hindi or Telugu, then translated, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic content analysis by two to three coders. Three main themes emerged from the qualitative interviews among these cisgender women living with HIV: (1) "They kept away": Experiences with social isolation; (2) "I thought people would think badly about me": Perceived experiences of discrimination; and (3) "I will live till I die": Suicidality, resilience, and gaining hope. Our findings reinforce the need for emphasis on culturally appropriate interventions for depression for cisgender women living with HIV in India, including greater access to mental health resources, greater availability of trained counselors that share the same gender and are native speakers of Hindi or Telugu, and increased family and community support for socially isolated individuals.
- Subjects
HYDERABAD (India); HIV-positive women; SOCIAL isolation; WOMEN-born women; DEPRESSION in women; SUICIDAL ideation; SOCIAL stigma; WOMEN'S sexual behavior
- Publication
Clinical Social Work Journal, 2020, Vol 48, Issue 1, p64
- ISSN
0091-1674
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s10615-019-00736-w