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Vietnamese families living with HIV

Begin jaren 2000 bevond Vietnam zich in de zwaarste fase van de hiv-epidemie. Samen met collega’s, vrouwen en hun families ontwikkelden we programma’s die levensreddende zorg mogelijk maakten en verhalen opleverden die hun weg vonden in films, kunst en publicaties.

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Bij mijn aankomst in Vietnam in 2003 als gezondheidsadviseur van het Medisch Committee Nederland Vietnam was er nauwelijks publieke aandacht of steun en stigma was extreem hoog. Er waren geen betaalbare AIDS remmers: een positieve HIV-test betekende vrijwel zeker een doodsvonnis. Zwangere vrouwen konden soms nog hun ongeboren kinderen beschermen tegen infectie, maar hadden zelf geen kans om hen te zien opgroeien. De meeste vrouwen wisten niet dat ze besmet waren, of ontdekten dit pas enkele maanden voor de geboorte bij een routinecontrole. Zonder interventie zouden veel kinderen overlijden of wees worden.

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Samen met mijn Vietnamese collega’s en partners besloten we het over een andere boeg te gooien. Niet alleen de kinderen, maar eerst en vooral de moeders moesten in leven blijven. In 2003 begonnen we daarom met vier vrouwen in een ondersteuningsgroep, de Sunflowers. Met steun van de Franse overheid voor testen en medicijnen mobiliseerden we jonge zwangere vrouwen, en moeders met kleine kinderen, om met behandeling te starten. Zo konden zij zelf hun kinderen opvoeden. Toen de medicijnen aansloegen, gingen de vrouwen andere vrouwen informeren en mobiliseren.

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Ik zette mijn redactionele en productionele ervaring in om deze turbulente tijd te laten documenteren door jonge Vietnamese filmmakers en kunstenaars. Tegelijkertijd gebruikten we academische methoden en technieken om zowel praktische als theoretische vragen te onderzoeken en de resultaten te delen.​

Publicaties:

  • Oosterhoff, P., Lyttleton, C., van der Kwaak, A., and Aggleton, P. (2013) ‘Editorial Introduction’ in Special Issue: Sexual and reproductive health issues among indigenous and minority ethnic peoples in Asia, Africa and Latin America, Culture, Health and Sexuality, Culture, Health & Sexuality, 15:sup3, S335-S337, DOI: 10.1080/13691058.2013.807076

  • White, J. and Oosterhoff, P. (2013) Monstrous Fears: experiences of pregnancy and opiate use in Vietnam, and strategies for support in Journal of Drug Issues, 43: 1, 4 – 19

  • Bach Xuan Tran, Ohinmaa A., Long Thanh Nguyen, Oosterhoff P., Tam Van Vu, Larsson M. (2012) Gender differences in quality of life outcomes of HIV/AIDS treatment in the latent feminization of HIV epidemics in Vietnam. AIDS Care, Vol. 24, Issue 10 (Taylor & Francis.

  • Oosterhoff P., White J. and Aggleton P. (editors) (2011) Special Issue: Sexual and Reproductive Health Issues among Minority Ethnic Groups in South-East Asia and South-West China, Culture, Health and Sexuality. November Issue.

  • White J., Oosterhoff P., and Nguyen Thi Huong (2011) Deconstructing 'Barriers' to Access: Minority Ethnic Women and Medicalised Maternal Health Services in Vietnam. Global Public Health (accepted for print January 2012)

  • Oosterhoff P., White J., and Nguyen Thi Huong, (2011) Engaging HIV positive ethnic minority mothers in Vietnam Exchange – Autumn, Royal Tropical Institute, Netherlands

  • Oosterhoff P. and Tran Xuan Bach (2011) Effects of collective action on the confidence of individual HIV positive mothers in Vietnam. In: Women, Motherhood and Living with HIV/AIDS: A Cross-Cultural Perspective (available in 2013). Editor: Pranee Liamputtong Springer.

  • Oosterhoff P., White J., Nguyen Thi Huong (2011) Family health consequences of modernisation programmes in Black Thai communities.  Culture Health and Sexuality. December Issue

  • Nguyen Thi Huong, Oosterhoff P., White J. (2011) Aspirations and realities of love, marriage and education among Hmong women. Culture, Health and Sexuality. December Issue

  • White, J.; Oosterhoff, P. and Anh Thu Vuong (2010) Opiate Use and Pregnancy in Hanoi: Findings of an Assessment, Medical Committee Netherlands Vietnam (MCNV)

  • Oosterhoff, P. (2009) Observations on action research with HIV-positive women and state service providers in northern Vietnam.  Medische Antropologie 21 (2).

  • Hardon, A., Oosterhoff, P., Nguyen, T., Hidayana, I. and Imelda, D. (2009) Preventing mother to child transmission of HIV in Vietnam and Indonesia: diverging care dynamics and fragmented practices.   Social Science and Medicine, 69 (6): 838-45.

  • Nguyen T.A., Oosterhoff P., Pham N. Y., Wright P, and Hardon A. (2009) Health workers' views on quality of prevention of mother-to-child transmission and postnatal care for HIV-infected women and their children. Human Resources for Health, 7:39 

  • Oosterhoff P., Nguyen T. A., Pham N. Y., Wright P., and Hardon A. (2009) Recreating kinship: coping options of HIV+ AIDS widows in Vietnam.  in: Health Care for Women International.

  • Nguyen T.A., Oosterhoff P., Pham N. Y., Wright P, and Hardon A. (2009) Self-Help Groups Can Improve Utilization of Postnatal Care by HIV-Infected Mothers.  Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, Vol. 20, No. 2, March/April 2009, 141-152.

  • Oosterhoff, P. (2009) UNDP Social and political science specialist on socio-economic impacts of HIV and AIDS, Vietnam: UNDP

  • Oosterhoff P. (2008) “Pressure to Bear” Gender, Fertility and Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission of HIV in Vietnam, PhD thesis

  • Oosterhoff P., Nguyen T. A., Pham N. Y., Wright P., and Hardon A. (2008) HIV-positive mothers in Viet Nam: using their status to build support groups and access essential services. Reproductive Health Matters, November issue

  • Oosterhoff P., Hardon A., Nguyen T. A., Pham N. Y., and Wright P. (2008) Dealing with a positive result: risks and responses in routine HIV testing among pregnant women in Vietnam. AIDS care, 2008, 20:6, 654-659

  • Oosterhoff P., Nguyen T. A., Ngo T. H., Pham N. Y., Wright P. and Hardon A. (2008) Holding the line: Vietnamese family responses to pregnancy and child desire when a family member has HIV.  In Culture Health and Sexuality, Volume 10, Issue 4, Pages 403 – 416.

  • Nguyen T.A., Oosterhoff P., Hardon A., Nguyen H. T., Coutinho R. A, and Wright P. (2008) Barriers to access prevention of mother-to-child transmission for HIV positive women in a well-resourced setting in Vietnam.  AIDS Research and Therapy, 5:7, doi:10.1186/1742-6405-5-7

  • Oosterhoff P., Nguyen T. A., Pham N. Y., Wright P. and Hardon A. (2008) Can micro-credit empower HIV+ women? An exploratory case study in Northern Vietnam.  Women’s Health and Urban Life, Vol.7, Issue 1.

  • Nguyen T.A., Oosterhoff P., Hardon A., Nguyen H. T., Coutinho R. A. and Wright P. (2008) A hidden HIV epidemic among women in Vietnam. BMC Public Health, January Issue, 8:37  

  • Oosterhoff, P.; Peeters, A.; Honderdos, I.; Pham, N. Y. and Bowen, R. (2007) Psycho-social support for women affected by HIV/AIDS: a handbook for communication skills training, Medical Committee Netherlands Vietnam, Vietnam Women’s Union

  • Pham, T. T. H.; Nguyen, T. A. and Oosterhoff, P. (2007) “Muoi Thuc Don, Danh cho Nguoi Mac Benh Nhiem Trung” (Vietnamese cookbook for families living with HIV), Hanoi Medical Publishing House

  • Oosterhoff, P.; Miller, N. and Tran Viet Anh (2007) Hanoi B93 Clubs Evaluation, Hanoi: Department of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (DOLISA) and MCNV

  • Oosterhoff, P. and Pham, T.T.H. (2005) Theory made palatable: Cooking lessons for HIV+ women in Vietnam, Nutrition 1: September.

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