“I Should Know Better”: The Roles of Relationships, Spirituality, Disclosure, Stigma, and Shame for Older Women Living With HIV Seeking Support in the South

“I Should Know Better”: The Roles of Relationships, Spirituality, Disclosure, Stigma, and Shame for Older Women Living With HIV Seeking Support in the South

The population of older people living with HIV in the United States is growing. Little is known about specific challenges older HIV-infected women face in coping with the disease and its attendant stressors. To understand these issues for older women, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 12 - 23
Main Authors: Grodensky, Catherine A., Golin, Carol E., Jones, Chaunetta, Mamo, Meheret, Dennis, Alexis C., Abernethy, Melinda G., Patterson, Kristine B.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-01-2015
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Ovid Technologies
Subjects:
Adaptation, Psychological
Aged
Aging
Black or African American - psychology
Disclosure
Female
Friends
HIV
HIV Infections - ethnology
HIV Infections - psychology
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Interviews as Topic
Middle Aged
Older people
Qualitative Research
Self Disclosure
Shame
Social Stigma
Social Support
Southeastern United States
Spirituality
stigma
Womens health
Southeastern United States
United States > US
social support
disclosure
stigma
aging
HIV
spirituality
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Summary:The population of older people living with HIV in the United States is growing. Little is known about specific challenges older HIV-infected women face in coping with the disease and its attendant stressors. To understand these issues for older women, we conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 15 women (13 African American, 2 Caucasian) 50 years of age and older (range 50–79 years) in HIV care in the southeastern United States, and coded transcripts for salient themes. Many women felt isolated and inhibited from seeking social connection due to reluctance to disclose their HIV status, which they viewed as more shameful at their older ages. Those receiving social support did so mainly through relationships with family and friends, rather than romantic relationships. Spirituality provided great support for all participants, although fear of disclosure led several to restrict connections with a church community. Community-level stigma-reduction programs may help older HIV-infected women receive support.
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ISSN:1055-3290
1552-6917
DOI:10.1016/j.jana.2014.01.005