Submission ID 118512
| Issue/Objective | In this paper, we examine how digital health technologies are reshaping therapeutic itineraries, particularly for people living with HIV. By therapeutic itinerary, we refer to "all the activities developed by individuals seeking treatment for an ailment or affliction" (Alves, 2015, p. 30). |
|---|---|
| Methodology/Approach | Our analysis draws on fieldwork conducted in Colombia in 2022, based on five focus group discussions with young cisgender men living with HIV in Bogotá and Medellín. We conducted a thematic analysis of the data to explore how digital technologies influence the experiences of accessing and navigating HIV-related care. |
| Results | We found two important ways in which digital health shapes therapeutic itineraries that the ways in which knowledge is reconfigured (support groups, online information and when technologies fail), as well as the reconfiguration of connectivity (affordances, spaces) imply new ways of transiting in the search for care. We are particularly interested in how variations in connectivity and shifts in how knowledge is produced, shared, and trusted influence the construction of these itineraries. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | While HIV is now a chronic and manageable condition, it requires ongoing monitoring, routine check-ups, and access to reliable information, much of which is increasingly mediated through digital platforms. Thousands of websites, both official and unofficial, offer HIV-related content, raising questions not only about information access but also about how digital infrastructures shape therapeutic pathways. Rather than assuming that digital technologies inherently create more "connected" or "informed" patients, we examine how the social and material configurations of digital health produce new forms of therapeutic itineraries marked by both opportunities and challenges. |
| Presenters and affiliations | Catalina Gonzalez-U Universidad de los Andes Catalina Gonzalez-Uribe Universidad de los Andes Javier Guerrero-C Universidad de los Andes Sebastian Leon-Giraldo Universidad de los Andes |
