Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis: Stigma and HIV among Gay Men

Abstract

In 2010, I (first author (M.D.S.)) set out to explore a promising approach for reducing the experience of stigma and shame among gay men living with HIV. From my clinical work and anecdotal accounts, I believed that men vary in how they connect or disconnect their experiences of shame around HIV status from prior shame experiences regarding being gay. In this study, I interviewed three men to explore what it was like for them to come out, test positive, and struggle with relationships, family, and work. Previous studies have highlighted the loneliness and desire for connection many men living with HIV experience, but I wished to explore how the emotions and thoughts about one's self were driving those experiences. This case study provides an account of the qualitative analysis of this project, clarifying the process of exploring the experiences of men living with HIV, and elucidates one approach to creating room for the voice of participants to come through, counterbalanced with the community experiences and theory that I already possessed. Finally, this case study presents a model of how qualitative and quantitative hypotheses might inform one another.

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