‘Silent nights, anointing days’: Post-HIV test religious experiences in Ghana

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

The majority of the people infected with HIV that I interviewed during my fieldwork in Ghana between 2007 and 2011 recalled that they found out about their positive status when they went to a hospital with a ʼnormal’ illness and, just like any other patient, went through the rudiments of registering in the Outpatients Department (OPD). They explained that they then went to the nurse to have their vital signs (blood pressure, temperature, weight and height) measured and then joined the (usually long) queue to see the doctor. Some of them had to see the doctor several times before their persistent condition warranted an HIV test. Others were asked to have the test at their first appointment with the doctor. Abiba,2 a 32-year-old Muslim woman with four children, narrated: Unlike the case of Abiba who was informed about the test before it was conducted, analyses of the life stories of people who had been to Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) and St. Patrick’s Hospital (SPH), the two ART facilities in Kumasi and Offinso, respectively, used in this study, showed that every so often the clients claimed to have been told about the test when their positive test results were about to be disclosed during post-test counselling (see below). This was usually the case for pregnant women since HIV tests are ‘provider-initiated’ on the maternity wards unless one opts out.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationReligion and AIDS Treatment in Africa
Subtitle of host publicationSaving Souls, Prolonging Lives
PublisherTaylor and Francis
Pages147-168
Number of pages22
ISBN (Electronic)9781317068204
ISBN (Print)9781409456698
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Jan 2016

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