title: 'A virus and nothing else': the effect of ART on HIV-related stigma in rural South Africa.
abstract: While the World Health Organization acknowledges the potential of antiretroviral therapy to reduce HIV-related stigma, few studies examine the nature of this linkage. This article discusses the connection between ART and HIV-related stigma, using qualitative analysis of interviews with HIV-positive adults at a rural South African clinic. The data has two main implications for ART's role in stigma reduction: it strengthens the plausibility that ART can reduce stigma through weakening HIV/AIDS's link with disfigurement and death, and shows that ART enables the establishment of spaces for support, which reduce stigma through normalization of the disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health, Brown University, 121 South Main Street, Providence, RI 02912, USA. Melanie.Zuch@gmail.com
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zuch
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lurie
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019380:Anti-HIV Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012424:Rural Population; D013019:South Africa; D013240:Stereotyping; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D019380:Anti-HIV Agents