The Leisure Experiences of Older U.S. Women Living With HIV/AIDS

Although leisure is held to provide positive health benefits, structural and social obstacles deny equal participation to the disenfranchised. Employing quantitative and unique qualitative (e.g., Photovoice) methods, we examined the leisure behaviors of older women who were living in the United States and diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Findings pointed to differences in time for, access to, and meaning of leisure in pre- vs. post-infection leisure for these women. As the disease progressed, however, each woman exhibited resilience in transcending systemic barriers to derive a spiritual view of leisure as a metaphor for the meaning of life. We believe our findings of spiritual transcendence will resonate among people living with HIV/AIDS throughout both Western and non-Western cultures.     

Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Increasing the Meaningful Involvement of Women Living With HIV/AIDS (MIWA) in the Design and Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services

The meaningful involvement of women living with HIV/AIDS (MIWA) is a key feature of women-centred HIV care, yet little is known about transforming MIWA from principle to practice. Drawing on focus group data from the Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS), we explored HIV-positive women's meaningful involvement in the design and delivery of HIV/AIDS services in British Columbia, Canada. In this article, we highlight the benefits and tensions that emerge as women traverse multiple roles as service users and service providers within their care communities, and the impact this has on their access to care and overall health.     

HIV/AIDS Stigma and Religiosity Among African American Women

African American women are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS compared with other ethnicities, accounting for two-thirds (67%) of all women diagnosed with HIV. Despite their increased risk of HIV infection, few studies have been conducted to understand culture-specific factors leading to their vulnerability. Given the central role of religious organizations in African American communities, this study explored whether and to what extent religiosity plays a role in stigma toward HIV/AIDS. Results of hierarchical regression showed that after controlling for key factors, religiosity was a significant factor predicting the level of religious stigma. Those with high religiosity displayed significantly higher stigma, associating HIV/AIDS with a curse or punishment from God. Verbatim responses to an open-ended question also revealed seemingly ingrained prejudice against HIV/AIDS from a religious perspective. The findings point to the important role of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in addressing HIV/AIDS issues within African American communities.     

泰安市艾滋病病毒感染者/艾滋病患者生存状况

目的了解泰安市HIV/AIDS患者的生存状况,为制定相关的救治救助政策和干预措施提供科学依据。方法使用自行设计的调查问卷、焦虑自评量表、抑郁自评量表和社会支持评定量表对本地区能随访到的全部HIV/AIDS患者进行面对面的问卷调查。结果调查的36例HIV/AIDS患者感觉自己生活质量很好或较好的仅占22.22%,4/36评定有焦虑,13/36评定有抑郁,家庭收入低于当地农民平均水平;年龄小于30岁、最近1个月参与社交活动多、最近1次CD4细胞检测结果高、没有接受抗病毒治疗的HIV/AIDS患者自我感觉生活状况较好,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论HIV/AIDS患者自我感觉生活状况差,部分存在心理问题,经济收入较低,应进一步加大心理支持和社会救助。     

Challenges Experienced by Rural Women in India Living With AIDS and Implications for the Delivery of HIV/AIDS Care

Researchers explored the barriers to AIDS care for rural women living with AIDS, and they investigated alternative delivery models to increase the women's adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART). Community-based participatory research focus groups were conducted by the researchers with a convenience sample of 39 women living with AIDS from a primary health center (PHC) near Chennai, India, and with nurses, physicians, and Accredited Social Health Activists (Ashas), who are lay health care workers. The most prevalent barriers expressed by the women were sickness-related, psychological, financial issues with childcare, and distance, or transportation to the site. Women living with AIDS reviewed Ashas favorably.     

Stories of African HIV+ Women Living in Poverty

In this study researchers explored the daily experiences of HIV+ women living in Kibera, Kenya. Using a convergence of narrative, feminist, and indigenous approaches, we engaged in individual in-depth interviews with nine HIV+ women. Interpretive storylines include the following: Being an African woman; If I sit there, that 10 bob won't come; If I die, who will take care of my children?; I am stigma; They just come to you; Being up, feeling down, and stress-up; and Living with HIV is a challenge. We present our findings to provide evidence-based insights to better support HIV+ women living in poverty.     

Psychosocial Differences Between Whites and African Americans Living With HIV/AIDS in Rural Areas of 13 US States

CONTEXT: Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) prevalence rates are increasing rapidly in rural areas of the United States. As rural African Americans are increasingly affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), it is important to identify psychosocial factors unique to this group so that AIDS mental health interventions can be culturally contextualized to meet their unique needs. PURPOSE: The current study characterized psychosocial functioning in 43 rural African Americans living with HIV/AIDS and compared their levels of functioning to those of 196 HIV-infected rural white persons. METHODS: All participants were recruited through AIDS service organizations in 13 US states. Surveys were completed as part of a preintervention phase of a randomized clinical trial evaluating 2 mental health interventions for HIV-infected rural persons. FINDINGS: Compared to their white counterparts, fewer African Americans had progressed to AIDS. African American participants also reported higher levels of coping self-efficacy, more support from family members, and marginally fewer depressive symptoms, and they engaged in more active coping. African Americans who had greater HIV disease severity also received less support from family members and experienced more loneliness. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings caution that rural African Americans and whites living with HIV disease should not be considered a homogeneous group.     

Masculinity and HIV disclosure among heterosexual South African men: implications for HIV/AIDS intervention

Relationships and constructions of masculinity are central to understanding the process of male HIV disclosure, which is an important step towards accessing HIV-related services. Data from in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with 23 HIV-positive, self-identified heterosexual, Black South African men were used to explore the disclosure process and how this process was negotiated in the context of constructions of masculinity. Of these men, 20 had disclosed to one or more persons, with partners and siblings being the preferred confidants. Disclosure was dependent on the acceptance of HIV status, perceived support and healthy relationships with others, HIV counselling and participation in educational and training activities. Non-disclosure was explained as a result of stigma, fear of rejection, discrimination, a lack of healthy relationships with others and lack of access to suitable disclosure strategies. Negative perceptions of HIV and hegemonic conceptions of masculinity hindered men from disclosing and seeking health services. Many men, however, managed to renegotiate their masculine identities to become responsible, knowledgeable HIV-positive individuals, protecting their families and becoming community educators. Findings suggest the need to consider gendered, contextual, skills-building/income-generating and guided interventions to promote male HIV disclosure and service uptake.     

Masculinity and HIV disclosure among heterosexual South African men: implications for HIV/AIDS intervention

Relationships and constructions of masculinity are central to understanding the process of male HIV disclosure, which is an important step towards accessing HIV-related services. Data from in-depth interviews and focus-group discussions with 23 HIV-positive, self-identified heterosexual, Black South African men were used to explore the disclosure process and how this process was negotiated in the context of constructions of masculinity. Of these men, 20 had disclosed to one or more persons, with partners and siblings being the preferred confidants. Disclosure was dependent on the acceptance of HIV status, perceived support and healthy relationships with others, HIV counselling and participation in educational and training activities. Non-disclosure was explained as a result of stigma, fear of rejection, discrimination, a lack of healthy relationships with others and lack of access to suitable disclosure strategies. Negative perceptions of HIV and hegemonic conceptions of masculinity hindered men from disclosing and seeking health services. Many men, however, managed to renegotiate their masculine identities to become responsible, knowledgeable HIV-positive individuals, protecting their families and becoming community educators. Findings suggest the need to consider gendered, contextual, skills-building/income-generating and guided interventions to promote male HIV disclosure and service uptake.     

Psychosocial Differences Between Urban and Rural People Living With HIV/AIDS

Abstract: During the past decade, many investigations have examined the life circumstances of people living with HIV disease. Most of these studies, however, have focused on HIV-infected people in large metropolitan areas. This study compares the psychosocial profiles of rural and urban people living with HIV disease. Anonymous, self-administered surveys were completed by 276 people with HIV/AIDS in a Midwestern state. The assessment instrument measured respondents' quality of life, perceptions of loneliness, social support, experiences with AIDS-related discrimination, access to services, and illness-related coping strategies. Compared with their urban counterparts, rural people with HIV reported a significantly lower satisfaction with life, lower perceptions of social support from family members and friends, reduced access to medical and mental health care, elevated levels of loneliness, more community stigma, heightened personal fear that their HIV serostatus would be learned by others, and more maladaptive coping strategies. Programs that are designed to improve the life circumstances of people with HIV disease in rural areas—particularly those that facilitate access to adequate health care, increase perceptions of social support, and improve illness-related coping—are urgently needed.     

Experiences of African Immigrant Women Living with HIV in the U.K.: Implications for Health Professionals

In the U.K. immigrant women from Africa constitute an increasingly large proportion of newly diagnosed cases of HIV. A significant minority of these are refugees and asylum seekers. Very little is known about their experiences of living with HIV/AIDS, their psychosocial needs or their views of health care provision. This paper reports the results of a qualitative study that explored these issues by interviewing eight African women living with HIV in the British city of Nottingham. Women's ability to live positively with HIV was found to be strongly shaped by their migration history, their legal status, their experience of AIDS-related stigma and their Christian faith. Significantly, health services were represented as a safe social space, and were highly valued as a source of advice and support. The findings indicate that non-judgemental, personalised health care plays a key role in encouraging migrant African women to access psychosocial support and appropriate HIV services.     

Poverty-related stressors and HIV/AIDS transmission risks in two South African communities

Community stress associated with poverty is related to health risks and poor health outcomes. Perceived community stress is specifically related to HIV transmission risk behaviors in the United States, but research bas not examined these relationships in southern Africa, the region of the world with the highest rates of HIV infection and among the greatest poverty. Men (N=464) and women (N=531) living in impoverished adjacent communities distinguished by race (e.g., indigenous African and Coloured) completed anonymous surveys of perceptions of 10 poverty-related community stressors and measures of HIV risk-related behaviors. Indigenous African and Coloured communities differed in their perceptions of stressors, with Africans consistently viewing the 10 community stressors as more serious problems. In addition, perceived seriousness of lacking basic living resources was related to higher risk for HIV among Africans. Perceived community stress was also related to alcohol and drug use, but substance use did not mediate the association between perceived community stress and HIV risks. In the Coloured community, perceived community stressors were related to drug use, but percived community stressors were not associated with HIV risks. These findings extend the findings of previous research to show that povertyrelated stressors are associated with HIV transmission risks in some poverty-stricken communities and that these associations are not mediated by substance use.     

Alternatives to current HIV/AIDS policies and practices in South African prisons

Prisoners in South Africa face problems of overcrowding, violence and poor nutrition. Added to this burden in recent times is the increased threat from HIV. The HIV epidemic has been relatively late in coming to South Africa but infection rates are now 20% in the adult population. However, there is no data available on the level of HIV infection in the prison population. Overseas studies suggest that the characteristics of prisoners place them at much greater risk of HIV infection. Factors which contribute to increased levels of HIV infection include poor health care facilities, lack of condoms and lack of disinfectants. Current policies and practices on HIV in prison attempt to balance the constraints of limited resources with the need to preserve prisoner human rights. The outcomes include: mass testing not freely available, HIV education is limited, and early release of prisoners with advanced AIDS is not allowed. Constraints on the implementation of effective HIV prevention strategies include: bureaucratic inefficiency, lack of resources, and a reluctance by prison authorities to address the issue of HIV in prison. These problems can possibly be overcome by addressing the issue from both management and prisoner perspectives. On the management side, increased resources, increased training of prison officials, and increased political commitment to address the issue are required. Outside partnerships are probably required for an effective response. Prisoners require better nutrition, better living conditions, better health care, freely available condoms and disinfectants.     

Enhancing protective factors in South African adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS

This article explores the lived experiences of early adolescents orphaned by HIV/AIDS and seeks to identify the different factors that contribute to resilience at the individual, family or home and larger community levels. Ten early adolescents aged from 12 to 14 years living in Soweto, South Africa, participated in the study. Data were collected using photovoice, structured interviews and autobiographical essays and were analysed using thematic networks analysis. The analysis revealed individual assets, family variables, peer and teacher support alongside other community resources as being protective factors that cultivate resilience. Based on the findings, recommendations are made on how to increase protective factors for adolescents affected by HIV/AIDS.     

The Innovative and Collective Capacity of Low-Income East African Women in the Era of HIV/AIDS: Contesting Western Notions of African Women

Historically, African women have been viewed through a colonizing and Eurocentric lens emphasizing poverty, oppression, and suffering. A postcolonial, feminist approach to our two qualitative studies with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected women in Malawi and Kenya led us to depart from this discourse, highlighting women's capacity. Through this article, not only is a forum created for African women's voices to be heard as subaltern knowledge leading to transformational change, but also health care providers are made aware, through women's words, of how they might capitalize on grassroots women's movements, particularly in resource-poor communities, to implement effective HIV prevention and treatment strategies.