In The Dual Perspective, Dr. Naomi Sutton is joined by Aoife Commins, a registered nurse and HIV advocate based in Galway, Ireland, to speak about Aoife's unique experience of being both a healthcare professional and living proudly with HIV. Aoife shares her diagnosis story and the challenges she encountered along the way, including stigma and misinformation - even among healthcare professionals. Aoife and Naomi discuss the state of HIV education, while sharing some key tips and resources for listeners to combat stigma and improve the understanding of HIV outside of the specialty.

" I did everything right. I took every step. I got tested. We were using condoms. We decided to stop using condoms and I still caught it. You know, it can happen to literally anyone. You can do everything right and still catch it. So, we have to stop with this kind of whole moral hierarchy of HIV"
" In society, we should not have to defend ourselves and advocate for ourselves in healthcare. It just shouldn't be the way it is. And it's very frustrating for people living with HIV."
" And if somebody sat in front of you saying, please, could you test for HIV? Just do the test. "

Aoife Commins is a Registered Nurse in Acute Medicine at University Hospital Galway, an HIV advocate and speaker dedicated to raising awareness about HIV, sexual health, and combating stigma based in Ireland. Follow Aoife on Instagram @aoifecommins.

 

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