Depression among aboriginal people living with HIV in Canada

Abstract

This paper explores the ways that Aboriginal people living with HIV and AIDS experience feelings of depression. Seventy-two individuals participated in an in-depth semi-structured interview. Many participants described their depression in terms of their relationships, including isolation or a disconnection from people, communities, and culture. Depression was closely linked to their individual experiences with racism, a history of fostering and adoption, childhood abuse, disconnection from family and community, and substance abuse. The paper ends with a discussion of how our findings compare to those from research on non-Aboriginal populations and with a consideration of their service-related implications.