Immuno-biographies of people living with blood-borne viruses: a timeline interview and narrative case study approach

Abstract

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the question of what human ‘immunity’ means and how it is related to broader social and biological systems has recently come to the fore. In this article, we engage with the concept of ‘immuno-biographies’, presenting four narrative case studies generated from a project that examines the intersections between individuals' experiences across their life course of exposure to infectious diseases, the other significant health events they have experienced, their use of vaccines, antivirals and other medications and other healthcare, and their general health and wellbeing practices. A co-constructed timeline interview approach was used to configure narrative case studies and immuno-timelines. The immuno-biographies presented in this article were selected from a cohort of participants in the study living with blood-borne viral infections (HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C, including co-infections). These case studies show how individual biographical experiences of health and illness combine with social structures, cultural meanings, and other life events in people's rationales and practices related to COVID and other health risks. The findings demonstrate the ways that people think about their immunity and immune responses biologically, biographically and socially, offering insights into the complexities, fluxes and liquidities of immuno-biographies. Our findings build on and extend previous research on immunity-related practices and understandings in the COVID era that have demonstrated how factors such as health status, social interactions, aspects of place and space, and previous experiences of illness, social stigma and social discrimination shape COVID-related prevention practices and healthcare.