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For people living with HIV, decisions about when, how and who to tell about their HIV status can involve navigating complex social, legal and health domains. With a focus on disclosure to broader social and familial networks, we explored the experiences of, and motivations for, HIV (non-)disclosure among recently diagnosed people living with HIV in Australia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 35 people diagnosed with HIV from 2016 onwards, of whom 25 completed follow-up interviews. Participants commonly reported anticipating negative responses and rejection from others when considering whether to disclose their HIV status. Some participants also took on the role of ensuring others' wellbeing when disclosing (or not), even as they themselves needed emotional support. Finally, some participants felt it important to be open about their HIV status to raise awareness of HIV and challenge HIV-related stigma. Our findings highlight the complex relational and social contexts that shape HIV disclosure. In addition to supporting individual people living with HIV when disclosing, we argue that educational programmes that target the broader, HIV-negative population are needed to shift the social landscape in which people living with HIV disclose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the potential for HIV treatments to transform the health needs of people living with HIV, receiving a positive HIV diagnosis can be a difficult experience and feelings of shock, distress and concerns for the future are commonly reported. Drawing on Michael Bury's conceptualisation of 'biographical disruption', we utilised semi-structured interviews to explore experiences of HIV diagnoses among 34 people diagnosed with HIV between 2016 and 2020 and living in Australia. Interviews were conducted between January 2018 and August 2021. Despite significant advances in biomedical HIV treatments and prevention, participants commonly experienced HIV diagnosis as emotionally challenging. For those with limited HIV awareness, HIV was commonly understood as a likely fatal condition. For some participants, receiving a positive diagnosis also engendered a degree of uncertainty as to their anticipated life trajectory, particularly its impact on future sexual and romantic relationships, options for starting a family and migration opportunities. For some gay and bisexual male participants, receiving a positive diagnosis almost confirmed a life trajectory that they had worked to avoid and their own sometimes-negative attitudes toward people living with HIV were internalised, making adjusting to diagnosis more complex. While all participants reported challenges in adjusting to an HIV diagnosis, some ultimately came to experience living with HIV as bringing about unexpected and welcome changes to their lives. Our findings highlight the complex and intersecting medical, social and emotional needs of people living with HIV when receiving and adjusting to a positive HIV diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective HIV treatments have transformed the medical needs of people living with HIV (PLHIV) to a chronic condition. However, stigma, poorer mental health outcomes and social isolation remain significant challenges for many PLHIV. HIV peer support programs have assisted PLHIV in navigating the clinical, emotional and social aspects of living with HIV. We draw on semi‐structured interviews with 26 recently diagnosed PLHIV in Australia to explore experiences of HIV peer support services. Our thematic analysis identified three overarching themes. First, participants commonly reported that peer support programs offered a sense of belonging and connection to a broader HIV community. This established a network, sometimes separate to their existing social networks, of other PLHIV with whom to share experiences of HIV. Second, peer‐based programs provided an opportunity for participants to hear firsthand, non‐clinical perspectives on living with HIV. While participants valued the clinical care they received, the perspectives of peers gave participants insights into how others had managed aspects of living with HIV such as disclosure, sex and relationships. Finally, participants highlighted important considerations around ensuring referrals were made to socially and culturally appropriate support programs. Peer support programs fill an important gap in HIV care, working alongside and extending the work of the clinical management of HIV. Incorporating formal referrals to peer support services as part of the HIV diagnosis process could assist recently diagnosed PLHIV in adjusting to a positive diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Disclosure of HIV status is usually considered a private encounter involving only a limited number of people at a time. Many people living with HIV are strategic about deciding in what contexts, using which approach, to whom, and to what extent they disclose HIV status. However, social media platforms provide opportunities for people to publicly disclose information about themselves to their networks. Utilising semi‐structured interviews with people recently diagnosed with HIV in Australia, we explore how, why, and using what strategies people living with HIV use social media as a means of publicly disclosing positive HIV status. Participants placed importance on having control of how they framed their life with HIV and adopted strategies to control the audience to whom they disclosed. Public disclosure on social media helped participants come out of the 'sero‐closet', empowered identity affirmation, and enabled them to be voices for other people living with HIV to shift public dialogue. We conclude that public disclosure of a positive HIV status can strip HIV disclosure of being associated with delivering private and unpleasant information, and instead reframe living with HIV from a responsibility to disclose to a right to share. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The rapid shift to digital platforms during the COVID‐19 pandemic enabled occupational therapy practice education to continue while creating unique learning opportunities for students in an environment of high demand for practice education providers. How occupational therapy practice educators experienced fieldwork supervision during this rapid redesign of service delivery is not widely understood. This study aimed to explore the experiences of practice educators who supervised occupational therapy students during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia. Methods: Fifteen occupational therapy practice educators participated in focus groups and individual semi‐structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to understand the experiences of the participants and explore the barriers and facilitators to providing practice education in this context. Findings The experiences of the occupational therapy practice educators were interpreted into three themes: (1) Opportunities lost and then created (as two subthemes); (2) The relationship between the student and practice educator (comprising subthemes of practicing self‐care and connection and support); and (3) Signing‐off of students' competencies. While digital platforms were initially viewed as limiting, they also were used to create new opportunities for student learning. Participants spoke of being mindful of their and students' wellbeing and finding ways to provide connection and support. Participants were challenged by the need to adapt how they evaluated students in the context of a pandemic. Conclusion: The findings of this study highlight the complexities of occupational therapy practice education in the rapidly shifting context of the COVID‐19 pandemic in Australia. The outcomes highlight the importance of creating new ways of using digital platforms during practice education while focussing on the relationships with students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Guidelines recommend that, where possible, clinicians convey HIV-positive test results in person in Australia. However, HIV-negative and all other STI results are routinely delivered by phone or text message. Requesting individuals to obtain positive HIV test results in person could be a deviation from the standard delivery of healthcare and be interpreted as indicating a positive HIV diagnosis., Methods: This paper is based on two related, ongoing qualitative studies conducted in Australia with HIV healthcare providers and people recently diagnosed with HIV. In study one, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with people who had recently received a positive HIV diagnosis. In study two, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted with HIV healthcare and peer support providers. Interviews were analyzed thematically., Results: While clinicians were willing to convey HIV-positive diagnoses by phone, most preferred in-person delivery. In-person delivery enabled clinicians to assess visual cues to better respond to the psychological and emotional needs of patients. For some participants living with HIV, however, the requirement to return to the clinic was interpreted as an unofficial HIV-positive diagnosis. This led to a period in which recently diagnosed participants believed they were HIV-positive without having received an explicit diagnosis., Conclusion: Protocols for delivering HIV diagnoses by phone, followed by a face-to-face appointment, may reduce the period of anxiety for some patients and assist with an early connection to HIV care and support., Policy Implications: In some instances, conveying HIV diagnoses by phone may be more appropriate than recalling individuals to the clinic to deliver a positive HIV diagnosis in person., Competing Interests: Conflict of InterestThe authors declare no competing interests., (© The Author(s) 2023.)