Disertasi ini membahas konstruksi pengetahuan dan praktik/tindakan pengelolaan illness yang dilakukan orang dengan HIV-AIDS (ODHA) serta berbagai faktor kontekstual yang terkait dalam mewujudkan praktik/tindakan tersebut. Penelitian dilakukan kepada 6 ODHA di Jakarta: laki-laki homoseksual, laki-laki biseksual, pekerja seksual komersial perempuan, intravenous drug user (IDU) laki-laki, dan perempuan heteroseksual yang terinfeksi dari suaminya. Data penelitian juga diperoleh dari significant others setiap ODHA. Konstruksi pengetahuan ODHA dalam mengelola illness dilihat melalui pendekatan connectionism. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Pengetahuan ODHA dalam mengelola illness berkembang melalui pengalaman pribadi dari upaya memahami illness (learning what illness means) hingga beradaptasi terhadap illness. Praktik/tindakan pengelolaan illness terwujud karena adanya makna yang terbentuk dari interaksi antara struktur ekstrapersonal dan intrapersonal individu.

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This study discussed about knowledge construction and illness managing practices that conducted by people with HIV-AIDS (ODHA), also contextual factors related to bring into reality those practices. Study conducted to 6 ODHAs in Jakarta that consisted of a male homosexual, a female bisexual, a female prostitute, an intravenous drug user (IDU), and females that were infected HIV- AIDS from their husbands. The data also were collected from the significant others of ODHAs. The ODHA's knowledge construction in managing illness was viewed through connectionism approach.

The study showed that the ODHAs' knowledge in managing illness developed through personal experiences from the effort to understanding the illness (learning what illness means) to becoming adaptive to the illness. The practices brought into reality because there was a meaning which was formed from interaction between individual extrapersonal and intrapersonal structure.