WOMEN'S EXPLANATIONS OF LIVING WITH HIV (IMMUNE DEFICIENCY).
Contributors: George Mason University.
Published: 1995
Number of pages: 110
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Women's Studies.; Social Work.
Description: Patients' explanations for a disease are frequently not the same as those of the health care providers. It is important for health care providers to know and understand the patients' perceptions of their illness in order to better anticipate issues which may arise with their care. Patients' refusal for treatment or care can frequently be due to misconceptions about their disease. The main purpose of this study was to identify the meaning of living with HIV to women who are infected with the virus. A secondary purpose of the study was to explore the patients' view of nurses within the reality of their illness.

Kleinman's (1978) Explanatory Model (EM) was used as a framework for the study and as a means to elicit the information from the participants. The EM was also used as a guide for the interview schedule.

The study was conducted through in depth tape recorded interviews utilizing open ended questions and probes. Thirty-one HIV positive women were interviewed in an outpatient military setting. All volunteers were either military subjects or their dependents. Transcriptions of the tape recorded interviews were content analyzed with the aid of The Ethnograph software. Chi-square tests were done to determine the association between selected demographics and the themes that evolved from the responses.

According to Kleinman (1978), EM's fall within three sectors. These sectors are (1) the Biomedical/Professional, (2) the Popular and (3) the Traditional/Folk sectors. Most of the women's responses were consistent with the acceptable biomedical explanations for HIV with added spiritual influences. The responses fell within each of the sectors or within a combination of the sectors.

The hidden themes that emerged from the interviews were: (1) fear, (2) spirituality, (3) cycle of distress, (4) anger, and (5) medical concerns. The findings also suggest that patient's expectations of nurses are that they will be accepting of their HIV status, provide them with necessary information, and provide for them a social interaction which is frequently absent in their life due to their fear of disclosure and self imposed social isolation. The information from this study can assist nurses in planning appropriate nursing interventions for women living with HIV.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-02, Section: B, page: 0989.

Thesis (PH.D.)--GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY, 1995.

School code: 0883.