title: Storylines of aging with HIV: shifts toward sense making.
abstract: Aging with HIV is a new phenomenon. It is expected that by 2015, approximately half of adults living with HIV in the United States will be age 50 and older. We used narrative inquiry to explore how older adults with HIV storied their experience and made sense of aging. Over a 3.5-year period, we interviewed 5 older adults living with HIV for 13 to 24 years. In analyzing the coconstructed stories, we identify six storylines that enhance understanding and guide listening: embodiment of the illness, sense making, death and loss, secrets and stigma, identity, and seeking connection. We theorize that the degree to which one reconciles each storyline influences how well one lives with illness. We share a storied exemplar to illustrate these storylines in one participant's experience of aging with HIV. These findings emphasize how vital is telling one's illness story, because sense making happens in the telling.
authors.affiliation: University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada rbeuthin@uvic.ca.
authors.forename: Rosanne E
authors.initials: RE
authors.lastname: Beuthin
authors.affiliation: University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.affiliation: University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Laurene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Sheilds
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D023241:Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active / Q000523:psychology; D001293:Attitude to Death; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002170:Canada; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D013240:Stereotyping
keywords: HIV/AIDS; aging; death and dying; narrative inquiry; social constructionism; stigma; stories