Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Brighton, United Kingdom.
Int J Public Health. 2024 Apr 22;69:1606607. doi: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1606607. eCollection 2024.
We sought to understand the social construction of aging in a clinic-based population, with and without HIV, to address gaps in care for older individuals living with HIV in Zambia.
Our exploratory qualitative study included 36 in-depth interviews with clinic clients and four focus group discussions with 36 professional and lay healthcare workers providing services to the clients. We identified themes based on social construction theory.
At the individual level, aging was multidimensional, perceived both as an achievement in the HIV era and as a period of cognitive, physical, and economic decline. In social interactions, older individuals were often stereotyped and treated as helpless, poor, and "witches." Those living with HIV faced the additional stigma of being labeled as promiscuous. Some of the participants living without HIV refused to take daily medication for non-communicable diseases to avoid being mistaken for taking antiretroviral therapy for HIV. Older individuals wanted quality healthcare and family support to address the intersectional stigma of aging, poverty, and chronic illness.
Multifaceted interventions are required to combat age-related prejudice, intersectional stigma, and discriminatory practices, particularly for people living with HIV.
我们旨在了解诊所人群中有无 HIV 的情况下，老龄化的社会建构，以解决赞比亚艾滋病毒感染者中老年人群体护理方面的差距。
我们的探索性定性研究包括对 36 名诊所患者进行深入访谈和对 36 名专业和非专业医疗保健工作者进行的 4 次焦点小组讨论，他们为患者提供服务。我们根据社会建构理论确定了主题。
在个人层面上，老龄化是多维度的，既被视为 HIV 时代的成就，也被视为认知、身体和经济衰退的时期。在社会互动中，老年人经常被刻板印象化，并被视为无助、贫穷和“女巫”。那些感染 HIV 的人还面临着被贴上滥交的污名化标签的额外耻辱。一些没有感染 HIV 的参与者拒绝服用治疗非传染性疾病的日常药物，以免被误认为是在服用治疗 HIV 的抗逆转录病毒药物。老年人希望获得优质的医疗保健和家庭支持，以解决与年龄、贫困和慢性病相关的交叉污名化问题。
需要采取多方面的干预措施来打击与年龄相关的偏见、交叉污名化和歧视性做法，特别是针对 HIV 感染者。
