article · East African Health Research Journal
Adults living with HIV in urban Tanzania encounter substantial psychosocial difficulties that affect their daily lives and healthcare experiences. A qualitative investigation in Ubungo Municipality, Dar es Salaam, explored these issues and individual management methods through interviews with clinic attendees. The primary challenges identified include struggles to accept positive test results, feelings of desperation, anxiety regarding disclosure, stigma, and financial difficulties connected to the infection. To manage these pressures, individuals rely on seeking social support, drawing positive experiences from routine clinic visits, adopting adaptive behaviours, ignoring adverse public remarks, and accessing relevant health information. Addressing psychological distress through targeted coping mechanisms helps enhance quality of life, highlighting the need for structured health authority initiatives to assist affected communities.
Managing HIV involves more than medical treatment, as stigma, despair, and secrecy can undermine individual health and well-being. Understanding how adults navigate these social and mental burdens allows public health services to create supportive environments, counselling programmes, and community interventions that foster resilience and sustain treatment engagement.
The abstract points to applied public health programme design rather than a commercial product. The insights could inform services developed by public health organisations, clinics, and non-governmental bodies looking to improve psychosocial interventions for patients. As a qualitative study of ten participants, the research represents early-stage formative evidence, requiring quantitative validation before guiding broader service delivery.
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Background: People living with HIV (PLWH) face numerous psychosocial challenges within the context of healthcare systems and the community where they live. This study aimed to describe psychosocial challenges and individual coping strategies among adults attending Care and Treatment Clinics (CTCs) in Ubungo Municipality, Tanzania. Materials and Methods: A qualitative descriptive study was conducted at CTCs in Ubungo Municipality, an urban setting in Dar es Salaam. Data were collected through audio-recorded in-depth interviews with 10 purposively selected participants. Audio files were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. Results: Difficulty in accepting HIV-positive test results, feeling desperate, fears of HIV disclosure, HIV-related stigma, and financial instability related to HIV infection were the main psychosocial challenges described by the participants. However, their main coping strategies included seeking social support, positive experiences from regular CTC attendance, adaptive coping, disregarding people's comments, and seeking HIV-related information. Conclusion: PLWH encounter various psychosocial challenges. Feeling desperate, fear of HIV disclosure, and HIV-related stigma are the main causes of psychosocial distress among people diagnosed with HIV. Changing the individual perspectives on these challenges through effective coping strategies can improve the quality of life for PLWH. The Ministry of Health, through the National AIDS Control Program, can design interventions focused on addressing these challenges. Future research should be undertaken to quantify the magnitude of these challenges and the coping strategies in similar settings.
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DOI: 10.24248/eahrj.v8i3.812
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