O'Brien Stephen, Broom Alex
a PhD Sociology, is a tutor at the School of Humanities and Social Science , The University of Newcastle , Newcastle , Australia , *Email:
SAHARA J. 2014;11(1):94-104. doi: 10.1080/17290376.2014.938102. Epub 2014 Jul 14.
Contemporary lived experiences of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are shaped by clinical and cultural encounters with illness. In sub-Saharan countries such as Zimbabwe, HIV is treated in very different ways in various therapeutic contexts including by biomedical experts, traditional medicine and faith healers. The co-existence of such expertise raises important questions around the potencies and limits of medicalisation and alternative healing practices in promoting HIV recovery. First, in this study, drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with 60 people from poor urban areas in Harare, we explore the experiences of people living with and affected by HIV. Specifically, we sought to document, interrogate and reflect on their perceptions and experiences of biomedicine in relation to traditional medicine and spiritual healing. Their accounts indicate that traditional medicine and spiritual beliefs continue to significantly influence the way in which HIV is understood, and the forms of help and care people seek. Second, we observe the dramatic and overwhelmingly beneficial impact of Antiretroviral Therapy and conclude through Zimbabwean's own stories that limitations around delivery and wider structural inequalities impede its potential. Lastly, we explore some practical implications of the biomedical clinic (and alternative healing practices) being understood as sites of ideological and expert contestation. This paper aimed to add to our knowledge of the relationships between traditional medicine and spiritual healing in connection with biomedicine and how this may influence HIV treatment and prevention.
人类免疫缺陷病毒（HIV）的当代生活经历受到与疾病的临床和文化接触的影响。在津巴布韦等撒哈拉以南国家，在包括生物医学专家、传统医学和信仰治疗师在内的各种治疗环境中，HIV的治疗方式大不相同。这些专业知识的共存引发了关于医学化以及替代治疗方法在促进HIV康复方面的效力和局限性的重要问题。首先，在本研究中，我们对哈拉雷贫困城市地区的60人进行了深入的定性访谈，以探索HIV感染者及受其影响者的经历。具体而言，我们试图记录、审视并反思他们对生物医学与传统医学和精神治疗的看法及经历。他们的叙述表明，传统医学和精神信仰继续对人们理解HIV的方式以及人们寻求的帮助和护理形式产生重大影响。其次，我们观察到抗逆转录病毒疗法产生了巨大且极为有益的影响，并通过津巴布韦人自己的故事得出结论，即治疗服务的局限性以及更广泛的结构性不平等阻碍了其潜力的发挥。最后，我们探讨了将生物医学诊所（以及替代治疗方法）理解为意识形态和专业竞争场所的一些实际影响。本文旨在增进我们对传统医学和精神治疗与生物医学之间关系的了解，以及这可能如何影响HIV的治疗和预防。
