A conceptual framework for information experience: evidence from serodiscordant couples in Malawi

This paper presents a conceptual framework for information experience grounded in a phenomenological study of how serodiscordant couples in Malawi experience HIV and AIDS information. Using Van Manen's hermeneutic phenomenology, in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 serodiscordant couples and 3 separated individuals. Analysis revealed that the life-world, comprising the lived body, lived space, lived others, and lived time, constitutes the overarching context within which information is experienced. A fifth life-world existential, spirituality, is proposed to account for the role of God and ancestral spirits as information sources. The study identifies four stages of information experience: anticipating, interacting with, acting on, and reflecting on information. These stages are non-linear, recursive, and mediated by continuous evaluation against religious, cultural, moral and social criteria. The framework extends existing information experience theory to populations facing stigmatised, life-threatening illness in low-resource settings.