Dr. John Alexander Bartlett is Professor of Medicine, Global Health and Nursing at Duke University Medical Center and Professor of Medicine at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. He is the Co-Director of the Duke University Center for AIDS Research, a Senior Fellow within the Duke University Health Inequalities Program, and co-chairs the Duke University Africa Initiative. Bartlett's research focuses on the treatment and complications of HIV infection, and has been the recipient of numerous US National Institutes of Health research grants. This collection contains 4 oral history interviews: 1 interview on October 29, 2009, 2 interviews on July 24, 2020, and 1 interview on January 29, 2024. The October 29, 2009 interview was conducted by Tullia Rushton and Diana Xie, as part of the Writing Class 20 Interview. In this interview, Bartlett discusses his decision to pursue medicine, his views on the ethics and frustrations of the field, and his work with HIV/AIDS. The July 24, 2020 interviews were conducted by Joseph O'Connell, as part of the Department of Medicine's Oral History Project. In the interviews, Bartlett discusses his work with patients with HIV/AIDS at Duke, his efforts in creating and sustaining international partnerships in HIV/AIDS research and treatment, and his thoughts on a social justice ethos in healthcare. The January 29, 2024 interview was conducted by Anthony Zhao, as part of the Bass Connections Agents of Change Oral History Project. In this interview, Bartlett explores the early years of the first public HIV/AIDS clinic at Duke; experiences with stigmatization in the community; and the clinical trials for AZT, the first available treatment for HIV/AIDS. The themes of this interview include community activism, health education, and patient-centered care.
Julieta (Julia) Giner, a nurse, was born in Bonn, Germany, to a German mother and a Spanish father. Her family immigrated to the United States when she was an infant. Being from an immigrant family, Giner understood that life can be challenging, and this understanding motivated her to work against the unfair stigma against HIV/AIDS patients. When one of her good friends became gravely ill because of AIDS in 1989, Giner knew she wanted to be involved in the development of treatment for HIV/AIDS. Giner started working at Duke Hospital in 1993, initially as a floor nurse in the general medicine. At the time, some of the patients in her ward had opportunistic infections due to AIDS, but wanting to be more closely involved in HIV/AIDS work, she spoke to Dr. John A. Bartlett, the physician running the public care clinic for HIV/AIDS patients. In 1996, Bartlett invited her to apply to become a clinical research nurse in that adult infectious disease clinic, where she worked until 2009. From 2005 to 2009, she worked with Bartlett in Moshi, Tanzania, at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre. When she returned to Durham, North Carolina, she worked in a general pediatric infectious disease clinic, where she was still able to see HIV/AIDS patients until she retired in 2020. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on February 5, 2024 by Anthony Zhao as part of the Bass Connections Agents of Change Oral History Project. In the interview, Giner discusses her early friendships within the LGBTQ community; taking care of a good friend with AIDS; her work taking care of HIV/AIDS patients at Duke Hospital; her extensive involvement with the community advisory board; her successes and failures with health education about HIV in Durham, North Carolina; and the unique bond within the clinic staff. The themes of this interview include LGBTQ issues, societal stigmatization, community activism, health education, and advocacy.
Patricia Bartlett, a clinical social worker, worked with HIV/AIDS patients in Durham, North Carolina, in the early 1980s at Durham County Regional Hospital (now Duke Regional Hospital). In 1988, she began working with Dr. John A. Bartlett's clinic on the Reynolds grant, which aimed to produce research comparing healthcare costs between home care and hospital care for dying AIDS patients. Her fearlessness and general familiarity with governmental bureaucracy became a lifeline for the AIDS patients at Duke. This collection contains 1 oral history interview conducted on January 29, 2024 by Anthony Zhao as part of the Bass Connections Agents of Change Oral History Project. In the interview, Bartlett discusses her care for a friend with AIDS in the early 1980s; her activism for patients not only at Duke, but also Durham County General Hospital; the negative reputation of John Bartlett's HIV/AIDS clinic at Duke; the extensive resistance she met from community organizations; and memorable experiences with patients at Duke. The themes of this interview include stigmatization and discrimination, community activism, health education, and patient advocacy.