Living with HIV: Women's experience in Burkina Faso, West Africa

Abstract

Our study aimed at studying HIV-infected women's experience with sharing serostatus with their partner and their group support. A survey was carried out among 79 seropositive women involved in a therapeutic trial in Bobo-Dioulasso, following freely consented prenatal HIV testing. The study revealed that women are reluctant to inform their partners and fear being stigmatized by relatives and friends. The major concern reported was health consequences and most women wished to receive care. The non-governmental organizations supporting people living with HIV were not known by these women, but providing this information raised a high interest and many women considered joining them soon and getting themselves involved. These community-based organizations, lead by qualified and highly motivated volunteers, could facilitate a better social integration of HIV infected women in Burkina Faso.