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. 2015 Feb;25(2):205-17.
doi: 10.1177/1049732314549813. Epub 2014 Sep 8.

Diagnostic technologies in practice: gay men's narratives of acute or recent HIV infection diagnosis

Daniel Grace  1 , Malcolm Steinberg  2 , Michael Kwag  3 , Sarah A Chown  3 , Glenn Doupe  3 , Terry Trussler  4 , Michael Rekart  3 , Mark Gilbert  3
Affiliations
Free PMC article

Diagnostic technologies in practice: gay men's narratives of acute or recent HIV infection diagnosis

Daniel Grace et al. Qual Health Res. 2015 Feb.
Free PMC article

Abstract

Diagnosing HIV-positive gay men through enhanced testing technologies that detect acute HIV infection (AHI) or recent HIV infection provides opportunities for individual and population health benefits. We recruited 25 men in British Columbia who received an acute (n = 13) or recent (n = 12) HIV diagnosis to engage in a longitudinal multiple-methods study over one year or longer. Our thematic analysis of baseline qualitative interviews revealed insights within men's accounts of technologically mediated processes of HIV discovery and diagnosis. Our analysis illuminated the dialectic of new HIV technologies in practice by considering the relationship between advances in diagnostics (e.g., nucleic acid amplification tests) and the users of these medical technologies in clinical settings (e.g., clients and practitioners). Technological innovations and testing protocols have shifted experiences of learning of one's HIV-positive status; these innovations have created new diagnostic categories that require successful interpretation and translation to be rendered meaningful, to alleviate uncertainty, and to support public health objectives.

Keywords: HIV/AIDS; experiences; health care, users’; illness and disease, experiences; knowledge construction; technology, medical.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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