How the Past Matters in HIV Healthcare Delivery

Abstract

In this article, I contribute to the scholarship that engages with the complexity of social factors in HIV/AIDS healthcare delivery. I draw attention to elements of care that occur on the margins of what is required by biomedical treatment regimens. I demonstrate how the contexts in which HIV healthcare is delivered can be expanded by being mindful of the history of the epidemic and its impact on gay communities. Drawing on ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews with patients and healthcare professionals in an HIV clinic, I center history crucial for survivors of the epidemic. I propose this as a strategy for building an inclusive approach to understanding HIV healthcare, which regards an integral history as a resource in care delivery practices.