HIV-positive patients' experiences of stigma during hospitalisation

The aim of the research to be presented in this article was to explore, within an Irish
context, HIV positive patients' experiences of hospitalisation, and particularly their
experiences of nursing care. This paper reports on one of the dominant themes to emerge
in the study - the experience of stigma among persons living with HIV during their
hospitalisation. A volunteer sample of 10 former in-patients of hospitals in the Republic
of Ireland’s capital, Dublin, were interviewed in depth, and data were analysed using a
qualitative content analysis. Findings indicate that while some participants experienced
stigma from nurses, such stigma was stratified according to the means by which the
disease had been contracted, with drug users expressing the greatest feelings of stigma
from nurses. Data also suggest that the location of nursing care favoured by many
participants was segregated care in specialist units, because it enabled them to avoid
being discredited by other patients who did not have the virus, as well as potentially offering social support from like-situated others. Finally, patients experienced breaches in
confidentiality because of institutional policies that made their disease conspicuous, and
from some nurses' nonchalance in handling information about their disease. The analysis
draws on Goffman's conceptualisations of stigma to explain the social process underlying
participants' accounts.