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Browsing Sociology by Author "Chikonzo, Ndakaitei"
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Item Open Access Growing old with HIV: narratives of women in Manicaland Zimbabwe(University of the Free State, 2016-12) Chikonzo, Ndakaitei; Coetzee, Jan K.; Rau, AstaEnglish: In this study, research participants’ narratives provide knowledge and a better understanding of the nature of life of women who are living and growing old with HIV. I use phenomenology as a principal lens to study the research participants’ lived experiences, social realities, existential being, and gendered lives. Phenomenological assumptions inform us that experiences are subjectively (personally), intersubjectively (interpersonally) and objectively (culturally and historically) impacted upon by different realities that exist in society. This study is interpretive — research participants share their unique perspectives. As a result, I adopt a qualitative approach to obtain the research participants’ first-hand narratives about their life stories. Audio-recorded, semi-structured and in-depth interviews with eight purposively-selected women, aged fifty to sixty-five years and living in the Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe, were conducted. Informed consent from the participants was obtained after approval to conduct the research by the Medical Research Council of Zimbabwe and the Ethical Committee of the University of the Free State’s Faculty of the Humanities. A thematic data analysis approach was used to make sense of the data gathered. The process yielded various themes and eventually produced four major over-arching themes, which are pre-diagnosis experiences, post-diagnosis experiences, adapting and adjusting to the condition, and life in the future. These phases are congruent with the notion that lived experiences are temporal, organised and inform each other. In addition, the analyses are also organised with reference to the observations that people who suffer from chronic conditions initially undergo a phase of inner struggle with regard to the reality of living with that condition, but come to terms with that reality over time and undertake to live positively with it. The ordinary everyday life experiences are mainly intersubjective, with people aligning their thoughts, judgements and actions with the common and shared knowledge and assumptions that construct and order life in that society. As noted in the findings, the research participants were initially not knowledgeable, some were fatalistic of the existence of HIV in their lives and others took long to implement proper courses of action to manage their condition. Consequently, their perspectives on HIV were mainly guided by the socially constructed assumptions and misconceptions about HIV existing in their communities. Some report that they encountered great difficulties during the disclosure of their HIV-positive status to those they deemed fit or trusted. Later on, proper support and age-influenced maturity assisted the research participants to acquire competencies that enabled them to deal with HIV in a positive way. They eventually adjusted and adapted well as they made efforts to understand, accept and manage their condition in a way that facilitates the re(creation) of the social order. The development of functional new meanings, such as a positive outlook on life, positive perception of self and personal strength, result in a positive outlook of the future, where some research participants hope for an HIV cure in their lifetime. Others, less ambitiously, hope to get well enough to return to their old activities such as engaging in cross-border businesses. They also acquired the ability to assess the impact of societal norms, beliefs and practices on their condition and discern what works for them, rather than acting blindly according to what is socially-accepted. Nevertheless, despite these positives, the research participants still have concerns about what lies ahead as they worry about the unpredictable effects of HIV and old age. The participants’ experiences as women, are also impacted by societal norms and values that relegate them to an inferior position in heterosexual relationships. Gender imbalances and inequality disempower women with regard to taking relevant courses of action to prevent or alleviate the effects of HIV owing to the societal expectations that women be submissive on issues that involve sexuality and the conduct of their husbands. Most of the research participants acknowledge that their experiences in this life-changing condition (HIV-positive) were complicated by their upholding of societal norms instead of having a greater regard for their personal wellbeing. On the whole, the study observes that the research participants create new meanings to live well with HIV despite the existing challenging social structures in their society.