Publication Cover
AIDS Care
Psychological and Socio-medical Aspects of AIDS/HIV
Volume 22, 2010 - Issue 10
511
Views
16
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

My body, my life, my choice: practices and meanings of complementary and alternative medicine among a sample of Australian people living with HIV/AIDS and their practitioners

&
Pages 1229-1235 | Received 25 May 2009, Published online: 16 Jul 2010
 

Abstract

In this study we examine the sociocultural meaning and use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by nine people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and four CAM practitioners. Analysis revealed five themes: focus on health not illness; resistance to antiretroviral therapy and adherence; allopathic medicine as narrow; difficulty disclosing to doctors; and a continuum of CAM that sometimes included conventional medicine and sometimes excluded it entirely. Literature on PLWHA in the West commonly describes them as sophisticated health consumers. We explore the concepts of individual responsibility in relation to health, holism, control and well-being in the context of CAM. We also consider the meaning and significance of CAM and western medicine to comment on the contemporary experience of HIV, including the possible impact of stigma and the perceived limits of allopathic medicine among some PLWHA. Understanding this will enable better insight into the treatment choices of PLWHA, particularly those who may be described as sceptical of conventional medical science.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the study participants, Jim Arachne and the Victorian AIDS Council for their assistance with recruitment and the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments. The project was funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 53.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 464.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.