Ett förändrat liv genom hiv? - En studie av tre livsberättelser

Sammanfattning: Title: A changed life by hiv? – A study of three life stories [translated title] The purpose of this study was to, through a theoretical framework consisting of stigma and crisis theories, illustrate and create an understanding of how you can experience life after testing positive for HIV. More specifically its aim was to examine the impact of a HIV-positive test result and how an HIV infection affects an individual's life situation. Three biographical stories served as an empirical basis in the study, with the inclusion criteria that biographies were to be written in Swedish and illustrating a life with HIV in Sweden. Books by people who had developed AIDS were excluded. The analysis was performed using a qualitative approach by a narrative analysis. Our results showed that testing positive for HIV means a traumatic experience that cause strong feelings and thoughts on life and death. A difference could be seen in how the individuals handled the crisis based on earlier experiences and their backgrounds. Our results and analysis also indicated that the individuals living with HIV in Sweden has to endure stigmatization, as a result of the significant social stigma that HIV carries. They described that they experienced two different types of stigmatization. One was described as feelings of exclusion, to be exposed to exclusion or even hated. It could also be fears or anxiety over anticipated reactions as a result of a stigmatization. The second stigmatization was when they had experienced real situations of stigma and degrading treatment from people or the society as a whole. Our conclusion of the results was that living with HIV has an immense effect on the individual’s life. Despite the impact of crisis and stigma, the life stories showed that individuals found ways to cope with the changed life situation and that they could look ahead and go on with life.