[Concepts of AIDS in relation to health and illness in homosexual men living in Quebec with AIDS].

Herzlich's (1969) theoretical framework was used to explore Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) from the point of view of affected individuals. Content analysis was performed on transcripts of interviews with eight French Canadian gay men living with AIDS. Results indicate that health and illness are socially constructed concepts and that health can coexist with illness. The authors discuss how Herzlich's framework can be used by nurses to better understand the individual's experience of illness and to guide the individual towards making behavioural changes that will generate health throughout the course of the illness.