The Felt Experience of HIV Nondisclosure
Recruitment Closed
Check back here for updates on results and publications
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to examine how people living with HIV/AIDS and people who are HIV negative feel about HIV nondisclosure in order to better understand the criminalization of HIV nondisclosure in Canada.
I am interested in:
Feelings about being diagnosed and living with HIV
Feelings related to experiences of a partner not disclosing their HIV status prior to sex
Feelings about nondisclosure and disclosure generally and,
How people respond to HIV nondisclosure
Description of Participation
Your involvement in this project will be confidential and anonymous. The research project has been approved by the University of Ottawa Research Ethics Board.
What: One interview that will be approximately 1 - 2 hours long and, if you choose, a creative activity and debriefing session that are each approximately 1 hour long.
The interview will involve answering a few open-ended questions about your experiences living with HIV and nondisclosure.
For the creative activity, you will be asked to draw a lifeline or a visual depiction of your life events as they relate to your HIV diagnosis and the context within which you became HIV positive. If you are HIV negative, you will be asked to draw a lifeline that depicts your nondisclosure story and how it has or hasn’t affected you and your sense of self. This aspect of the project is meant to be fun, creative, and an opportunity for you to express your thoughts, emotions, feelings, and experiences through art!
For the debrief session, we will meet again to discuss your lifeline and the feelings and emotions you had while making your drawing.
Each component of the research project will be conducted in English only.
When: For the interview and debrief session, at a date and time that is most convenient for you. For the creative activity you will be required to do it on your own time but before the scheduled debrief session.
Where: Over Zoom or telephone for the interview and debrief session and wherever your creative juices flow for the lifeline activity.
How: For the creative activity you are asked to draw the lifeline either by hand using whatever you have around or with computer software. Examples of lifelines and instructions can be found below.
You will be given a $40 honorarium for generously contributing your time to the interview portion of the research project. If you participate in the artistic activity and debriefing session you will receive an additional $80 – $40 for the creative activity and $40 for the debriefing session.
Examples of Lifelines
Drawing taken from Martin, E. (1997). The symbolic graphic life-line: Integrating the past and present through graphic imagery. Art Therapy: Journal of the American Art Therapy Association, 14(4), 261-267.
Drawing taken from Gramling, L.F. and Carr, R.L. (2004). Lifelines: A life history methodology. Nursing Research, 53(3), 207-210.
