“Am iz kwiin” (I’m his queen): Combining interpretative phenomenological analysis with a feminist approach to work with gems in a resource-constrained setting

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on working with gems using a feminist approach to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in a resource-constrained setting. The research explores the experiences of maternal disclosure of HIV to children of HIV positive mothers in Kingston, Jamaica. A feminist approach helps recognise power imbalances within research relationships and the women’s lived experiences. We present three “gems” which illuminate women’s lived experiences and explore how popularised representations of women’s sexuality and mothering influence disclosure discourses. We use emotion work as a conceptual resource to structure the women’s narratives and challenge existing policy discourses, which arguably represent disclosure within a binary, rationalist, decision-making framework. This article adds to global literature on maternal HIV disclosure and problematises policy discourses by bringing into relief the emotion work women engage in when deciding if and how to communicate their HIV status to their children. It adds to the body of research using IPA, particularly in resource-constrained settings where IPA has thus far had little application.

KEYWORDS:

• Disclosure of maternal HIV to children
• emotion work
• Feminist interpretative phenomenological analysis
• IPA
• Jamaica
• resource-constrained

Notes

1. Quotes written in Jamaican Patois are transcribed using the Cassidy-Le Page system of written Jamaican Patois (Cassidy and Le Page, 1980) and translated by Author 1.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Gayle Clifford

Gayle Clifford has recently completed her PhD at City, University of London, which used   feminist IPA to explore the maternal disclosure experiences of HIV positive mothers in Kingston, Jamaica. Her background is in development studies, public health, and youth and community work.

Gill Craig

Gill Craig is a Reader in Public Health & Social Science and is the lead for the Food & Public Health Group in the Centre for Research in Primary and Community Care (CRIPACC) at the University of Hertfordshire. She has a background in psychology, medical sociology, and public health.

Christine McCourt

Christine McCourt is a Professor of Maternal and Child Health at City, University of London, where she is joint research lead in the Centre for Research in Maternal and Child Health and Senior Tutor for Research. Her key interests are in maternity and women’s health.