School teachers’ health and ‘therapeutic citizenship’ in Zambia: problems and prospects.
Date
2020-12-31
Authors
Mulubale, S.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Journal of Education and Practice, IISTE Publication
Abstract
A treatable illness, HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) has both latent and visible psychological, social and
economic effects on infected and affected individuals. School teachers as a key population and large civil service
workforce in Zambia, appear to have distinct representations of HIV citizenship and ART (Antiretroviral Therapy)
experiences. This study employed a qualitative and thematic analytical approach to examine the notion of
therapeutic citizenship as represented by school teachers in Zambia. The aim of this paper is to explore ways
through which HIV positive teachers position themselves in citizen experiences of living with HIV and on ART,
which are important framings of ‘therapeutic citizenship’. Semi-structured interviews with 41 HIV positive
teachers in Zambia aged between 25 and 55 were conducted. Transcripts were processed using NVivo Pro 12®,
following a thematic analytic methodology. The results show that gender, location, social and professional life
play a role in how HIV-citizenship is represented and appropriated. The unending treatment practices around HIV
can portray individuals’ self-narratives as ‘resistant’ subjects by, for instance, describing them as victims of
‘pharmaceutical colonialism’ in Zambia. Findings suggest that identity entanglements and fragmentation of
selfhood in biomedicine and biopolitics seem to be a pivot for critical citizens, such as the participants of this study.
HIV programmes must be aimed at people in Zambia who know little about some newer aspects of HIV treatment
which if known about could be destigmatising for people who are negative and positive and could help reduce
incidence for younger and older people.
Description
Keywords
ART. , Health. , HIV. , Therapeutic citizenship. , Teachers. ,