Ve effects [40]. The participants who had fully disclosed their infection appeared to have adapted better to their illness. One male participant, who had been previously very ill but had now recovered after being on HAART for 4 years, told his whole family, clan and the rest of the community: My wife is aware and we went for HIV test together.. . . Everyone at home even people of my clan know it. By buy VP 63843 disclosing his HIV status, this participant was able to garner help and support from family, the community and the health system. He was open about both his desire to have more children and his willingness to work with the health system to prevent possible transmission of HIV infection to his children. After his HIV diagnosis 4 years previously, he and his two wives had started HAART, and both wives had conceived and delivered HIV-negative babies. When asked about whether he cared about the health of his HIV-positive pregnant wife, he said: Yes I care about her health because when she is pregnant I take her to the health centre for ANC [antenatal] and she gets ANC card so that the doctor takes good care of her. Adjustment and resilience In regard to resilience and adjustment, some participants had coped with their illness and the stigmatization that they experienced. These PLHIV generally ignored people who stigmatized them. When asked about whether people talked ill of him when he wanted to have another child, one male participant said: Yes there were some people who like stigmatising HIV-positive people and they were the ones talking ill of me, but I did not mind because I considered that to be idle talk, because a person can’t say I am healthy (HIV-negative) without going for blood test, you can only know your HIV status after a test, but they don’t know theirs now. The availability of HAART, which made them healthier and capable of looking after themselves and their children, also made them more resilient. When asked what advice he would give to HIV-positive pregnant women, another participant said: What would I say is this if you are HIV-positive just adhere to your drugs only and don’t mind what others say and you will be in a very good state of health even better than some of the people stigmatising you.DiscussionThe purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of Chaetocin cancer stigma and delineate its effect on the desireNattabi B et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2012, 15:17421 http://www.jiasociety.org/content/15/2/17421 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.15.2.to have children among PLHIV in northern Uganda. The “Conceptual Model of HIV/AIDS Stigma” [23] was the most useful framework since it allowed the exploration of both the process and context of HIV-related stigma in this population and how these elements influence the desire to have children in this region. HIV-related stigma continues to affect the lives of PLHIV in northern Uganda, where an HIV diagnosis and disclosure of HIV status are the main triggers of stigma, while received stigma and internal stigma are the main forms of stigma experienced. Outcomes of the stigma process include self-isolation and sero-sorting, but also resilience, adjustment and normification. Deacon [42] argued that to only consider the negative outcomes of the stigmatization process has limited the understanding of stigma and the range of effects it has on stigmatized people. Stigmatization of PLHV does not necessarily lead to disadvantage or discrimination [42]. Some PLHIV cha.Ve effects [40]. The participants who had fully disclosed their infection appeared to have adapted better to their illness. One male participant, who had been previously very ill but had now recovered after being on HAART for 4 years, told his whole family, clan and the rest of the community: My wife is aware and we went for HIV test together.. . . Everyone at home even people of my clan know it. By disclosing his HIV status, this participant was able to garner help and support from family, the community and the health system. He was open about both his desire to have more children and his willingness to work with the health system to prevent possible transmission of HIV infection to his children. After his HIV diagnosis 4 years previously, he and his two wives had started HAART, and both wives had conceived and delivered HIV-negative babies. When asked about whether he cared about the health of his HIV-positive pregnant wife, he said: Yes I care about her health because when she is pregnant I take her to the health centre for ANC [antenatal] and she gets ANC card so that the doctor takes good care of her. Adjustment and resilience In regard to resilience and adjustment, some participants had coped with their illness and the stigmatization that they experienced. These PLHIV generally ignored people who stigmatized them. When asked about whether people talked ill of him when he wanted to have another child, one male participant said: Yes there were some people who like stigmatising HIV-positive people and they were the ones talking ill of me, but I did not mind because I considered that to be idle talk, because a person can’t say I am healthy (HIV-negative) without going for blood test, you can only know your HIV status after a test, but they don’t know theirs now. The availability of HAART, which made them healthier and capable of looking after themselves and their children, also made them more resilient. When asked what advice he would give to HIV-positive pregnant women, another participant said: What would I say is this if you are HIV-positive just adhere to your drugs only and don’t mind what others say and you will be in a very good state of health even better than some of the people stigmatising you.DiscussionThe purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of stigma and delineate its effect on the desireNattabi B et al. Journal of the International AIDS Society 2012, 15:17421 http://www.jiasociety.org/content/15/2/17421 | http://dx.doi.org/10.7448/IAS.15.2.to have children among PLHIV in northern Uganda. The “Conceptual Model of HIV/AIDS Stigma” [23] was the most useful framework since it allowed the exploration of both the process and context of HIV-related stigma in this population and how these elements influence the desire to have children in this region. HIV-related stigma continues to affect the lives of PLHIV in northern Uganda, where an HIV diagnosis and disclosure of HIV status are the main triggers of stigma, while received stigma and internal stigma are the main forms of stigma experienced. Outcomes of the stigma process include self-isolation and sero-sorting, but also resilience, adjustment and normification. Deacon [42] argued that to only consider the negative outcomes of the stigmatization process has limited the understanding of stigma and the range of effects it has on stigmatized people. Stigmatization of PLHV does not necessarily lead to disadvantage or discrimination [42]. Some PLHIV cha.
