Brazilian mothers with HIV: experiences with diagnosis and treatment in a human rights based health care system

Abstract

Drawing on in-depth interviews with a group of urban poor HIV-positive mothers in Northeastern Brazil, this essay examines their experiences with HIV medical diagnosis and treatment. It argues that strong social and religious networks as well as the Universal HIV treatment program provide Northeastern Brazilian mothers with forms of support that may be absent in other countries. It further suggests that more research be done to determine how particular forms of health care, such as the human rights-based approach that Brazil has taken to HIV/AIDS, inform patient–provider relationships.

Keywords:

• perinatal HIV
• human rights
• anthropology

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Simone de Sousa Paiva who served as the proxy interviewer for this research. The National Science Foundation, RUI Grant # 0647112 provided funding for this work. Cait Breen provided graphic and bibliographic assistance. Stacy Lindau's effort on this manuscript was supported in part by NIH/NIA 1K23AG032870-01A1.