Vulnerability and Autonomy: resources and learning in people living with HIV/AIDS. A comparative analysis with people living with Hepatitis C

PECHENY MARIO; MANZELLI HERNÁN

Dallas

Congreso; XXIV Conference of the Latin American Studies Association,; 2003

Latin American Studies Association

HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C are both grave, chronic diseases, although they have different social meanings. Pathologies that tend to be chronic, both create time-related issues. Because essentially they are not curable, what each patient strives to do is to manage or control their disease, seeking to guarantee the best possible quality of life while living with the pathology. HIV/AIDS is the disease that has been the most highly charged with meaning in recent decades, while Hepatitis C has no specific symbolism attached to it - in fact, few are aware that Hepatitis B or C is actually a different ailment from Hepatitis A or so-called “common” Hepatitis. Using J. Pierret’s (1992) organization, our approach is threefold: a) a diachronic analysis of the subjects’ biographic evolution b) an analysis of interactions forged by the onset and development of these diseases and c) an analysis of both pathologies. This paper collected results on one of the core issues at hand: learning to “live with the disease” and mastering the material and symbolic resources involved in disease management, a process we call “expertization”.