HIV Prevention, Stigma, and Care in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat Vietnam.

PURPOSE: A four-week interdisciplinary student/faculty research project in Vietnam served as a focused experience in understanding Vietnamese healthcare structures, functions, outcomes.

DESIGN: Testing the validity and feasibility of a successful US HIV intervention program called Women's Voices Women's Lives© using group and individual interviews.

FINDINGS: Healthcare inequities and poverty were found to paralyze individual, family, and community mobilization in HIV testing while stigma is a key barrier to both testing and care seeking.

IMPLICATIONS: Vietnam has become a place where living with HIV infection challenges communities in a distinct socio-cultural context while incidence and prevalence rates continue to rise.