PADAYON: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF WOMEN LIVING WITH HIV IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines has registered the highest prevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in Asia and the Pacific Region (UNAIDS, 2022) with 273% increase in the number of new infections from 2010 to 2020 (DOH, 2021). As women comprise very small proportion of Filipinos living with HIV population, information about their mental health, well-being and quality of life tend be very minimal as well (Melgar et al., 2021). This study aimed to provide Filipino women a voice to express their individual experiences in coping with HIV and to gain a deeper understanding of the meanings of their personal experiences. How these women make sense of their HIV experiences could be helpful for other women living with HIV (WLWH) who need to effectively deal with this dreaded health condition. This study also aimed to identify gaps in the existing literature on health behaviors and outcomes of PLWH, contribute to the pool of information which would be useful in strengthening their intervention efforts and provide recommendations for future research. Keywords: lived experiences, women living with HIV, interpretative phenomenological analysis