title: Eastern Caribbean Physicians' Responses to Providing HIV/AIDS Care in Resource-Limited Settings: We've Come a Long Way, but We're Not There Yet.
abstract: Physicians' ability to provide care to patients living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in the Eastern Caribbean is influenced by economic constraints, sociocultural norms that govern interpersonal interactions, and the pervasive stigma linked to the disease. Although the economic environment determines national capacity to acquire various treatment and monitoring technologies, Eastern Caribbean physicians respond to practicing in a resource-limited setting by making choices that are influenced by the collectivist ethos that governs interpersonal relationships. Through qualitative interviews, the study finds that the social stigma associated with the disease requires physicians to "go the extra mile" to provide care in ways that allow PLWHA to protect their privacy in small, closely networked societies.
authors.affiliation: Health Policy, PhD Program, McMaster University, ON, Canada reddocjr@mcmaster.ca.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Reddock
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D017691:Caribbean Region; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D057545:Social Stigma; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors
keywords: Eastern Caribbean; HIV/AIDS; culture; physicians; resource limited; stigma