Open Access“My Determination Is To Live”: Narratives of African-American Women Who Have Lived with HIV for 10 or More Years
Author(s) -
Sabrina T. Cherry,
Kathleen deMarrais,
Cheryl Keita,
Marsha Davis,
Joel Lee
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the qualitative report
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.335
H-Index - 35
ISSN - 2160-3715
DOI - 10.46743/2160-3715/2018.3389
Subject(s) - thriving , narrative , lived experience , narrative inquiry , gender studies , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , qualitative research , psychological resilience , african american , meaning (existential) , narrative therapy , psychology , sociology , gerontology , medicine , social psychology , anthropology , psychotherapist , family medicine , linguistics , philosophy
Exploring the experiences of African-American women who have lived with HIV for many years can inform public health practice on how to better serve high-risk populations along the care continuum. To understand the experiences of African-American women who are HIV positive, the researchers used a narrative approach to guide repeat interviews. Under a theoretical framework of Womanism, we interviewed six African-American women ages 48-66 (M=57) who have lived with HIV for 10 years or longer and conducted analyses of narrative to identify key themes. The primary themes were: recollecting early hardships, HIV infection, and diagnosis; embracing social support; surviving and thriving; meaning making and HIV. The findings highlight the need for programs specific to long-term survivors, including resilience training, education programs on dating and disclosure, and opportunities to engage in meaningful work or volunteer initiatives.