On the Count
Research type
Research Study
Full title
On The Count: A Qualitative longitudinal study to explore how viral suppression and the 'undetectable' is made sense of and experienced by young adults living with HIV in London, UK
IRAS ID
210068
Contact name
Lucy Cullen
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
London school of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 5 months, 4 days
Research summary
The purpose of the study is to explore how the biomedical objective of viral suppression and being ‘undetectable’ is made sense of and experienced by young adults living with HIV in London UK, over time. Drawing from HIV illness and treatment narratives of HIV positive young adults, the study will explore how meanings of the biomarker of viral suppression are made and remade in relation to the situated and altering illness experience. The study will seek to identify and examine (i) what the biomarker of viral suppression is understood to mean, (ii) how biomedical objectives of sustaining viral suppression are negotiated within the life context, (iii) how therapeutic responsibility, expectation and uncertainty shape biomedical engagement and experience, and (iv) how private HIV narratives interplay with social, political and biomedical scripts.
The study will employ a longitudinal qualitative design, generating data through two mediums. The primary data source will be generated through two waves of in-depth interviews conducted over a period of approximately 10 months. Additional data will be generated through audio (or if preferred written) diaries between the interview waves. The study will look to speak with young adults between 18 and 29 years of age, of varying times on treatment and therapeutic histories. Insofar as is possible the study will seek to interview young adults with experiences of treatment resistance, virological failure or treatment complications, and will include a subset of individuals who are detectable at the time of first interview. This is with a view to exploring more complicated treatment pathways where sustaining an undetectable viral load has proved more problematic. Study findings will be used to inform and develop recommendations for interventions to help young individuals navigate the altering demands and uncertainties of lifelong treatment trajectories.REC name
London - Fulham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/LO/2178
Date of REC Opinion
20 Dec 2016
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion