@entity645 / @entity791 has associated cultural and social meanings which shape communication. The disease is closely linked to the concepts of life and @entity204 . Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has brought hope and life, but its success is heavily dependent on strict adherence. Research has shown that @entity1 and health professionals often find it difficult to talk about these topics. However, there is little research available which focuses on health professionals' and @entity1 ' discussion of ART. This paper thus presents some exploratory discussion of extracts from pharmacy interactions in an @entity645 context which illustrate how pharmacists talk about antiretrovirals (ARVs) with @entity1 with particular reference to the concepts of life and @entity204 . Data are taken from 26 video pharmacist- @entity1 interactions recorded in a South African @entity645 / @entity791 pharmacy. A hybrid qualitative analytic approach enabled identification of three types of references to ART, including the need to take ART "for the rest of your life", ART as "saving your life" and ART as "making you better". Explicit references to @entity204 were infrequent. These references were often emphatic and there are several potential reasons for this. The pharmacists' communication appears to be influenced by the urgency of the disease, a desire to give @entity1 hope and a need to "normalise" discussions of @entity204 and @entity645 . The importance of ensuring understanding of ARV dosage instructions and discouraging @entity1 from seeking traditional healing also appears to affect communication. The disease, societal and cultural contexts are thus shown to be significant influences which shape discussions of ART. This study has a number of practical implications, which are discussed.

"Now here come the pills that are going to save your life": pharmacists' discussions of antiretroviral drugs in a context of life and XXXX .

@entity1 :: ('9606', 'Species') :: ['patients', 'patient'] @entity791 :: ('MESH:D000163', 'Disease') :: ['AIDS'] @entity645 :: ('57667', 'Species') :: ['HIV'] @entity204 :: ('MESH:D003643', 'Disease') :: ['death']
@entity204 :: (MESH:D003643,Disease) :: ['death']
