Francophones living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario: the unknown reality of an invisible cultural minority

AIDS Care. 2012;24(5):658-64. doi: 10.1080/09540121.2011.630350. Epub 2011 Nov 17.

Abstract

A strong body of evidence demonstrates that education, prevention and intervention, in the context of HIV/AIDS, should take ethno-racial diversity into account. The current research focuses on the cultural sensitivity manifested by AIDS service organisation ASO professionals towards Francophone minority persons living with HIV/AIDS Francophone PHAs in the two main urban centres of Ontario: Ottawa and Toronto. More specifically, this qualitative research will describe two different points of view: Francophone PHA service users n=17 and ASO professionals n=12. Data were collected from multiple focus groups and analysed using a phenomenological methodology. The analysis revealed that an important difference exists in the perceptions of language as an integral part of ethno-racial diversity. For ASO professionals, language is perceived as a simple tool of communication. For Francophones living with HIV/AIDS, however, language is perceived as a way to convey sensitivity to their cultural reality and a full recognition of their Canadian citizenship. This research showed that cultural sensitivity should include a linguistic aspect when it comes to health-related services, especially in the context of an officially bilingual country.

Publication types

  • Multicenter Study

MeSH terms

  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / epidemiology*
  • Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / prevention & control
  • Communication
  • Cross-Cultural Comparison
  • Female
  • Focus Groups
  • HIV Seropositivity / epidemiology*
  • Health Status Disparities*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Minority Groups
  • Ontario / epidemiology
  • Qualitative Research
  • Verbal Behavior*