COUNSELLING EXPERIENCE AMONG PEOPLE LIVING WITH HIV IN DEALING WITH HEALTH, SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL CHALLENGES: A QUALITATIVE RESEARCH

Abstract

HIV counselling is one of the services provided in HIV treatment and care to support people living with HIV (PLHIV) in dealing and coping with HIV infection. In Malaysia, HIV counselling has been provided for more than 20 years in HIV care and treatment, but, there are still lack of studies about the impact of the service. Therefore, there is a need to study the issues related to HIV treatment and care among PLHIV. This qualitative study aims to explore the experiences of PLHIV and how they cope with HIV in engaging with the counselling sessions provided as apart of the HIV treatment. This study was conducted at two public hospitals in Malaysia that provide treatment for HIV patients. A total of 12 PLHIV were selected by purposive sampling, all of whom participated in semi-structured and audio-recorded interviews, which were supported with non-participant observations and diary entries on three occasions for each participant. The interviews and diaries were transcribed and analysed using the grounded theory approach, which was assisted by utilizing NVIVO-8 to identify the themes related to the experiences of the participants. The results showed that PLHIV experienced health problems and social struggles, which contributed to the psychological challenges in continuing their lives with HIV infection.