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May 23-24, 2019 | Vienna, Austria
Nursing Care
28th International Conference on
Journal of Intensive and Critical Care Nursing | Volume 2
J Intensive Crit Care Nurs, Volume 2
Constructing identities to evade stigma in relationships with one partner living with
HIV: Experiences of black African heterosexual couples
Mohamed Kemoh Rogers
University of East Anglia, UK
Background: Through effective use of Anti-HIV medications,
minimal risks of HIV transmission possibilities are evident and
significant number of relationships containing one partner
livingwithHIV(SerodiscordantRelationships(SdRs))nowexist.
However, HIV is still overlaid with non-recovery prospects
and associated with unacceptable behaviours such as having
multiple sexual partners, engagement in gay sex and drug use.
Hence, HIV remains a stigmatising and discrediting condition
and couples in SdRs are motivated to construct identities to
conceal HIV within their relationships. Nevertheless, how
couples construct identities in order to avoid anticipated
stigma within SdRs are not evident in current HIV literature.
Therefore, this proposed oral presentation focuses on how
couples do not unintentionally reveal their true relationships
to people who might stigmatise them.
Methods: Following multi-centre ethical approval, 25 in-
depth interviews were conducted in Genitourinary Medicines
(GUM) clinics in London with 19 heterosexual participants
in SdRs from Black African backgrounds. Data was analysed
through phenomenological reflection and writing. Age of
participants ranged 30-58 years (12 females - 30-45, 7 males
- 31-58). MAXQDA, a qualitative data analysis software was
used for data storage and retrieval.
Results: Significant themes emerged from this study including
construction of identities through close regulation of
activities within SdRs so that potential stigma is evaded. The
proposed presentation shows that multiple SdRs identities
are conceivable including protected identity, true identity and
false identity through disclosure tactics.
Discussions: Identities in SdRs is contextualised in terms of
liquid modernity, which is an amorphous phenomenon. In
this sense, identity of SdRs are transformed from a given to
a task wherein couples take on the responsibility of making
their own identities.
Implications for nursing practice:Understanding howcouples
in SdRs manage their identities has implications for providing
support for Black African heterosexual couples, particularly
with potential benefits of engagement with both people living
with HIV and their partners.
Speaker Biography
Mohamed Kemoh Rogers completed his PhD from City University
of London in 2016. He is Senior Lecturer in Nursing Sciences,
School of Health Sciences in the Faculty of Medicine and Health
Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK. He leads modules
at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. He was previously Senior
Lecturer in Public Health with Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and
Chelmsford, UK. His research interests include lived experiences of living
with chronic infectious conditions using Interpretive Phenomenology
and Strausian Grounded Theory with Symbolic Interactionism as
theoretical framework. He has made several presentations at national
and international conferences. His publications are mainly on aspects
of Serodiscordant Relationships (SdRs).
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