In this regard, Hackl and her colleagues emphasize, "Women who share their HIV or AIDS diagnosis with family or friends risk stigmatization (including reactions of fear, shock, and blame), isolation (as a result of others' fears of casual transmission and the possibility of desertion), and potential loss of self-esteem (lack of confidence and self-blame)" (p. 53).
The alternative to sharing their diagnosis is also not viable: "Keeping the diagnosis of HIV a secret may hinder a woman's ability to develop effective coping strategies and leave her vulnerable to fear, anger, and depression. These problems may worsen as the progression of HIV disease creates significant changes in behavior, attitudes, and physical appearance" (Hackl et al., p. 54). As Rosenberg emphasizes, though, "Medical experts know that those who get tested and counseled reduce risky sexual behaviors. Treatment also reduces the stigma of AIDS. One of the biggest reasons people don't change their sexual behavior is because AIDS is just too scary to contemplate. Where AIDS is always fatal, it is shrouded in denial. This phenomenon changes when AIDS becomes a manageable chronic illness, like diabetes" (p. 23).
According to Blumberg, Osborn, Larry and Olson (2003), policy development for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and sexually transmitted disease (STD) prevention requires accurate and timely data in order to develop, target, implement, and evaluate effective prevention programs; however, although there has been an increased amount of attention given to developing information on HIV and STD risk and preventive behaviors for many infected and high-risk populations, the inclusion of explicit questions on risk and preventive behaviors in general population surveys has traditionally been limited by concerns about...
These authors advise, "Respondents may be more willing to answer sensitive questions honestly when they believe that their answers will remain anonymous or confidential. It has been hypothesized, for example, that the greater anonymity associated with telephone interviews compared with personal contact could yield more frequent reports of risky, socially disapproved behaviors" (p. 121). In this regard, researchers have demonstrated that women are more likely to honestly answer questions concerning potentially embarrassing sexual behavior information (e.g., the number of sexual partners in the past year) in telephonic interviews than in face-to-face interviews (Blumberg et al.).
References
Blumberg, S.J., Osborn, M.L., Larry, C. & Olson, L. (2003). The impact of touch-tone data entry on reports of HIV and STD risk behaviors in telephone interviews. The Journal of Sex Research, 40(2), 121.
Hak-Su, K. (2004, March-May). Why we must defeat HIV / AIDS. UN Chronicle, 41(1), 51.
Hackl, K.L., Somlai, a.M., Kelly, J.A. & Kalichman, S.C. (1997). Women living with HIV / AIDS: The dual challenge of being a patient and caregiver. Health and Social Work, 22(1), 53.
HIV / AIDS and women. (2008). U.S. Centers for Disease Control. [Online]. Available: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/women/index.htm.
HIV / AIDS and work: Global estimates, impact and response. International Labour Review, 143(4), 403-404.
Kang, N. (2005, December). 'Silence is death': Towards a woman-Centred HIV / AIDS prevention. UN Chronicle, 42(4), 70.
Ortiz-Torres, B., Serrano-Garcia, I. & Torres-Burgos, N. (2000). Subverting culture: Promoting HIV / AIDS prevention…
