HIV/AIDS stories on the World Wide Web and transformation perspective
Mohammed, S.N.; Thombre, A.
Journal of Health Communication 10(4): 347-360
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 1081-0730 PMID: 16036741 DOI: 10.1080/10810730590950066Document Number: 255274
Survivor stories have been an important part of therapy and social support for persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome AIDS (PLWHAs), and the World Wide Web has made these stories accessible to a vast audience. These stories are examined in the light of the concept of "transformation perspective" defined as a self-communicative experience that changes an individual's life so that priorities and self-identity are refocused. The trigger event that alters the individual's life might be a diagnosis with cancer, HIV, diabetes, or some other serious illness; divorce; financial tragedy; unemployment; or retirement. The "disorienting dilemma," according to Mezirow, leads to self-examination, and thus to changes in the individual's frame of reference. The present study found that PLWHA's stories with more details were more likely to reflect transformation perspective.