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Routines, Hope, and Antiretroviral Treatment among Men and Women in Uganda
Author(s) -
Winchester Margaret S.,
McGrath Janet W.,
KaawaMafigiri David,
Namutiibwa Florence,
Ssendegye George,
Nalwoga Amina,
Kyarikunda Emily,
Birungi Judith,
Kisakye Sheila,
Ayebazibwe Nicholas,
Walakira Eddy J.,
Rwabukwali Charles
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
medical anthropology quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.855
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1548-1387
pISSN - 0745-5194
DOI - 10.1111/maq.12301
Subject(s) - normalization (sociology) , sociality , antiretroviral treatment , antiretroviral therapy , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , citizenship , qualitative research , sociology , gender studies , psychology , gerontology , medicine , political science , social science , family medicine , viral load , ecology , politics , law , biology
Antiretroviral treatment programs, despite biomedical emphases, require social understanding and transformations to be successful. In this article, we draw from a qualitative study of HIV treatment seeking to examine the drug‐taking routines and health‐related subjectivities of men and women on antiretroviral treatment (ART) at two sites in Uganda. We show that while not all participants in ART programs understand clinical protocols in biomedical terms, they adopt treatment‐taking strategies to integrate medication into daily practices and social spaces. In turn, these embedded practices and understandings shape long‐term hopes and fears for living with HIV, including the possibility of a cure. More significant than new forms of citizenship or sociality, we suggest that quotidian dimensions of treatment normalization shape the long‐term experience of medication and outlook for the future.