Francophones living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario: The unknown reality of an invisible cultural minority

• Published in: AIDS care 2012-05, Vol.24 (5), p.658-664
• Main Authors: Samson, Andre A., Spector, Noah M. P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - epidemiology; Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome - prevention & control; AIDS; AIDS/HIV; Attitudes; Bilingualism; Biological and medical sciences; Canada; Citizenship; Communication; Cross-Cultural Comparison; cultural minority context; Cultural Pluralism; Cultural Sensitivity; Culture; Data processing; Disease prevention; Diversity; Female; Focus Groups; Francophones; French language; Health education; Health Status Disparities; HIV; HIV Seropositivity - epidemiology; HIV/AIDS; Human immunodeficiency virus; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Intervention; Language; Linguistic aspects; Linguistics; Male; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Minorities; Minority & ethnic groups; Minority Groups; Ontario; Ontario - epidemiology; Ontario Canada; Perception; Phenomenology; Prevention; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Qualitative Research; Social psychiatry. Ethnopsychiatry; Sociocultural environment; Toronto, Ontario; Verbal Behavior; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the lymphoid tissue and the blood. Aids
• ISSN: 0954-0121; 1360-0451
• DOI: 10.1080/09540121.2011.630350

A strong body of evidence demonstrates that education, prevention and intervention, in the context of HIV/AIDS, should take ethno-racial diversity into account. The current research focuses on the cultural sensitivity manifested by AIDS service organisation ASO professionals towards Francophone minority persons living with HIV/AIDS Francophone PHAs in the two main urban centres of Ontario: Ottawa and Toronto. More specifically, this qualitative research will describe two different points of view: Francophone PHA service users n17 and ASO professionals n12. Data were collected from multiple focus groups and analysed using a phenomenological methodology. The analysis revealed that an important difference exists in the perceptions of language as an integral part of ethno-racial diversity. For ASO professionals, language is perceived as a simple tool of communication. For Francophones living with HIV/AIDS, however, language is perceived as a way to convey sensitivity to their cultural reality and a full recognition of their Canadian citizenship. This research showed that cultural sensitivity should include a linguistic aspect when it comes to health-related services, especially in the context of an officially bilingual country.