Abstract

Black/African American women are disproportionately affected by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease. The purpose of this study was to gain an in-depth understanding of the experiences of a group of lower socioeconomic, older Black/African American women, who were living with HIV disease. A purposive sample of ten participants was obtained and data was collected through unstructured interviews. Using the phenomenological stance of Merleau Ponty, and guided by van Manen's methodological processes, seven essential themes emerged: transcending adversity and becoming; using knowledge as empowerment; dealing with HIV stigma; concealing and revealing; tending to their emotional life; and caring for others while they themselves were being cared for. The meaning of living with HIV disease is a dynamic interrelated patterning process of these essential themes. The findings support Pamela Reed's theory of Self-Transcendence. Implications for nursing include: the urgent need for a paradigm shift that acknowledge the strengths of older Black/African American women; the need for the integration of sexual assessment and education on risk reduction and medication adherence into routine healthcare encounters; and for further research to expand the data base on strategies that older Black/African American women use to overcome diversity and live with HIV disease.

Description

This dissertation has also been disseminated through the ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. Dissertation/thesis number: 3612324; ProQuest document ID: 1507461871. The author still retains copyright.

Author Details

Judith C. James-Borga, PhD, MS, BSN, Associate Professor

Sigma Membership

Epsilon Kappa

Type

Dissertation

Format Type

Text-based Document

Study Design/Type

Phenomenology

Research Approach

Qualitative Research

Keywords:

African-American Women, Older Women, HIV, Self-Transcendence

Advisor

Keville Frederickson

Second Advisor

Kathleen M. Nokes

Third Advisor

Steven Baumann

Fourth Advisor

Tamara R. Buckley

Degree

PhD

Degree Grantor

The City University of New York

Degree Year

2013

Rights Holder

All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record.

All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository.

All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.

Review Type

None: Degree-based Submission

Acquisition

Proxy-submission

Date of Issue

2022-03-01

Full Text of Presentation

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