emotional issues discussed when clarifying diary entries were therefore retrospective
to the emotions actually experienced. While my translator and I were able to listen
sympathetically on occasions when people did choose to discuss their feelings and
experiences, and inform people about the new anti-retroviral treatment scheme
starting in the region, not being a trained counsellor meant that it was not appropriate
to try and offer direct counselling support to diary keepers. On reflection, it is possible
that more support and counselling could have been sought from professionally trained
personnel, although this in turn would have raised issues regarding confidentiality and
anonymity, and, given the limited public displays of emotion in the Caprivi, would
possibly have been considered culturally inappropriate.
As Cloke et al. (2000) state, the process of research impacts not just upon the
‘researched’, but also indirectly, upon those who belong to their social worlds.
Because diaries were recorded in the private sphere of the household, it is not possible
to know how their recording impacted upon intra-household relations. Tensions
between ‘patient’ and carer were recorded in several diaries (cf. Thomas 2006), and it
is possible that these issues were exacerbated by the diary keeping process, although
this was never stated to be the case. Separate books and pens were provided for each
diarist, thus limiting the opportunity for potentially upsetting statements to be seen by
each person. Given the nature of the household compounds, it would, however, have
been difficult for diary keepers to keep books hidden. One solution to this would have
been to store diaries with a neutral party such as a HBC worker, although this again
would have raised issues of confidentiality and safe storage, as well as prevented the
diary keeper from recording their experiences and emotions as they happened.
It is also not possible to rule out the possibility that participating in the diary
keeping increased stigma directed against the ill person. In an attempt to avoid this, it
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