"New Beginnings": A Case Study in Gay Men's Changing Perceptions of Quality of Life during the Course of HIV Infection

This article reports results of an ethnographic study that sought to understand how a cohort of gay men living with HIV infection evaluated and worked to preserve or improve the quality of their lives. Themes of life story narratives are identified, each with an associated stylistic self-orientation...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Medical anthropology quarterly 2001-03, Vol.15 (1), p.38-57
Main Author: Bloom, Frederick R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Activities of Daily Living
Adult
AIDS
Anthropology
Case studies
Chronic illnesses
Cohort Studies
Commentaries
Cultural values
Disease Progression
Diseases
Ethnography
Everyday life
HIV
HIV infections
HIV Infections - complications
HIV Infections - psychology
Homosexuality
Homosexuality, Male
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Male homosexuality
Medical anthropology
Middle Aged
Narratives
Perceptions
Quality of Life
Self
Social Behavior
Watson, Lawrence
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Summary:This article reports results of an ethnographic study that sought to understand how a cohort of gay men living with HIV infection evaluated and worked to preserve or improve the quality of their lives. Themes of life story narratives are identified, each with an associated stylistic self-orientation to living with HIV infection. Changes in thematic content of a selected participant's life story narratives are discussed, demonstrating how events of his daily life are integrated into the narratives. Resultant concurrent shifting of themes and stylistic orientations is linked to his perception of improved quality of life.
ISSN:0745-5194
1548-1387
DOI:10.1525/maq.2001.15.1.38