PROBLEMA DE INVESTIGACIÓN

Although it was hard for me to get entry into organizations in the initial phase for granting consent letters and assistance for data collection, I completed my data collection efficiently in the later phase. There was great support from the organizations working in the field of HIV. I managed to convince people of the need for HIV research on identity issues. There are important things that helped me to accomplish this field work. They include: my good understanding of Nepalese culture; my empathetic attitude in dealing with PLHIV in the initial stage of becoming aware of HIV stigma and discrimination and the high expectations of research participants regarding HIV prevention, and reduction in HIV stigma and discrimination after giving information to me. Addition assets include my earlier HIV research experience, as well as choosing a

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wider research sites (Kathmandu Valley, Pokhara Valley and its peripheral locations). I touch on these stories briefly below.

Organizations working in the field of HIV and AIDS were actively involved in enabling me to complete this research. Their co-operation was in part due to my capacity to convince people, and to explain that research on identity reconstruction is a new research area. During my visits to them, I felt that I could convince people working with PLHIV of the importance of this study. Although there had been some studies carried out in the field of HIV stigma and discrimination, people were aware that no studies about the impacts of stigma and discrimination on identity issues had been done before in Nepal. This made it easier for me to convince the people working at the organizations to become willing to help me through their collective efforts. This resulted in smooth completion of data collection.

Interviews were more effective where the researcher, agency workers and participant(s) discovered a common connection with either associates or relatives, or a common connection to a geographical location. After my introduction to a woman working at a big organization working in the field of HIV, we discovered that her parental home was near the border of the Dahachok village development committee in Kathmandu where my family lives. Immediately, we established a relationship of Dai (Me, as Elder Brother) and Bahini (She, as Younger Sister) as per our Nepalese culture. I came to know that she was working there in one of the key positions at the organization and she helped me a lot in finding PLHIV, introducing me with the interested research participants. I felt that our cultural relationship, of Dai and Bahini, and the proximity of

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our homes from a geographical point of view worked effectively when doing field work.

I wanted to ensure that no member of the public or organization would raise any issues or complaints at the time of data collection. I made strenuous efforts not to do anything that would harm any of my interviewees or the people working in the HIV field at any of the organizations I worked with. In some of the circumstances, I adopted an empathetic attitude, especially when dealing with PLHIV for the first time. I also gained clues about the interviewees from facial gestures and the body language of others in the helping organisations. Then, I learned to recognise the helpers’ gestures that indicated a particular person was living with HIV. However, I never asked for an interview with anyone living with HIV without getting introduced by someone from the respective organization. Some HIV-negative people would just point at someone to assist me to get an interview with the person. I did not take up any interview with anyone who was simply pointed out to me as one living with HIV. This approach helped me to avoid any negative issues during my field visit.

I believe that my success during the field work has been a result of my education and experience working in Nepal. Gaining educational attainment from school to university level inside and outside the country with a prestigious scholarship and working in different organizations helped me develop skills to deal with people in difficult situations. The work I did with Population Women Environment Development Organization, Society for Co-operation and Development funded by foreign agencies, teaching at Gramin Adarsha Multiple Campus in Kathmandu, Birendra Adarsha Multiple Campus in Chitwan as well as teaching Master’s courses doing research on

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reproductive health (Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of School Going Students) all contributed to finding organizations working with HIV and AIDS, rapport building and asking for support with data collection. In the field of HIV and AIDS, working as a principal investigator exposed me to many people working at governmental and non- governmental organizations in Kathmandu and Pokhara.

Furthermore, I was successful in creating good networks while working as a Programme Coordinator at Masters level in the Population, Gender and Development Programme from 2008-2011, including roles and responsibilities of headship of Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Pokhara University for eight months, in the absence of the usual dean, before coming to New Zealand for this PhD study. In the absence of the dean at the Faculty, I successfully managed the Faculty. Thus, these various opportunities in the course of gaining education and working in various jobs provided me an opportunity to interact with many people working at various levels. The people I had worked with before helped me to interact with people working in the field of HIV and AIDS by taking me to organizations. I was also assisted by telephone conversations with senior officers in regards to my research. This helped me to accomplish my tasks at the various levels with enthusiasm. In some of the places I did the fieldwork with the support of former students of Pokhara University who helped by giving me organizational details that allowed me to interact with organizational heads in regard to finding PLHIV. All this support and cooperation from people I had previously worked with reassured me that I had been successful in creating good fellowship during my tenure in various jobs that also helped me in accomplishing this research field work successfully and enthusiastically.

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A crucial reason behind the success of data collection was to take a wider coverage of geographical areas, gain consent for research in six districts from the ethics committees, MUHEC and NHRC, and understanding the sensitivity of HIV research. Indeed, I had already figured out, to some extent, if the areas of study are narrowed, the process of data collection would be harder if I could not find PLHIV. It is clear that finding PLHIV is not easy; that is why I had to go to many organizations. In this study, I have used four districts only, Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Kaski and Synagja out of the six possible districts for which I had received ethical approval for data collection. Nevertheless, including a wider approval area gave me more options to proceed in field work which can be attributed as a reason for success in data collection.