Safiya George Dalmida

Spirituality, mental health, physical health, and health-related quality of life among women with HIV/AIDS: integrating spirituality into mental health care.

HIV-positive women have used spirituality as a resource to enhance their psychological well-being and health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of this article is to review the literature about depression among HIV-positive women and to describe the positive associations reported among spirituality, mental health, and HRQOL. This article also advocates the development and use of interventions integrated with spirituality. The incorporation of spirituality into traditional mental health practices can optimize healthcare for HIV-positive women who are diagnosed with depression. A case example is presented and spiritual implications are discussed.

Spiritual Well-Being, Depressive Symptoms, and Immune Status Among Women Living with HIV/AIDS

Spirituality is a resource some HIV-positive women use to cope with HIV, and it also may have positive impact on physical health. This cross-sectional study examined associations of spiritual well-being, with depressive symptoms, and CD4 cell count and percentages among a non-random sample of 129 predominantly African-American HIV-positive women. Significant inverse associations were observed between depressive symptoms and spiritual well-being (r = −.55, p = .0001), and its components, existential well-being (r = −.62, p = .0001) and religious well-being (r = −.36, p = .0001). Significant positive associations were observed between existential well-being and CD4 cell count (r = .19, p < .05) and also between spiritual well-being (r = .24, p < .05), religious well-being (r = .21, p < .05), and existential well-being (r = .22, p < .05) and CD4 cell percentages. In this sample of HIV-positive women, spiritual well-being, existential well-being, and religious well-being accounted for a significant amount of variance in depressive symptoms and CD4 cell percentages, above and beyond that explained by demographic variables, HIV medication adherence, and HIV viral load (log). Depressive symptoms were not significantly associated with CD4 cell counts or percentages. A significant relationship was observed between spiritual/religious practices (prayer/meditation and reading spiritual/religious material) and depressive symptoms. Further research is needed to examine relationships between spirituality and mental and physical health among HIV-positive women.

The Meaning and Use of Spirituality Among African American Women Living With HIV/AIDS

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the meaning and use of spirituality among African American (AA), predominantly Christian women with HIV. A nonrandom sample of 20 AA women from a large infectious disease clinic in Metro-Atlanta participated in the study. The study used focus groups and individual interviews to interview women about their lived spiritual experience. Content analysis and NUDIST software were used to analyze transcripts. The findings revealed the spiritual views and practices of AA women with HIV. The following themes (and subthemes) emerged: Spirituality is a process/journey or connection (connection to God, higher power, or spirit and HIV brought me closer to God), spiritual expression (religion/church attendance, prayer, helping others, having faith), and spiritual benefits (health/healing, spiritual support, inner peace/strength/ability to keep going, and here for a reason or purpose/a second chance). Findings highlight the importance of spirituality in health and well-being among AA women with HIV/AIDS.

Revisiting Safe Sleep Recommendations for African-American Infants: Why Current Counseling is Insufficient

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be placed in the supine position on firm bedding and not bed share with parents or other children. Health professionals increasingly understand that many African-American parents do not follow these recommendations, but little research exists on provider reactions to this non-compliance. This study was intended to better understand how low-income, African-American mothers understand and act upon safe sleep recommendations for newborns and how providers counsel these mothers. We conducted focus groups with 60 African-American, low-income, first-time mothers and telephone interviews with 20 providers serving these populations to explore provider counseling and patient decision making. The large majority of mothers reported understanding, but not following, the safe-sleeping recommendations. Key reasons for non-compliance included perceived safety, convenience, quality of infant sleep and conflicting information from family members. Mothers often take measures intended to mitigate risk associated with noncompliance, instead increasing SIDS risk. Providers recognize that many mothers are non-compliant and attribute non-compliance largely to cultural and familial influence. However, few provider attempts are made to mitigate SIDS risks from non-compliant behaviors. We suggest that counseling strategies should be adapted to: (1) provide greater detailed rationale for SIDS prevention recommendations; and (2) incorporate or acknowledge familial and cultural preferences. Ignoring the reasons for sleep decisions by African-American parents may perpetuate ongoing racial/ethnic disparities in SIDS.

The psychological well-being of people living with HIV/AIDS and the role of religious coping and social support.

Objective: This study examined correlates of depressive symptoms, particularly the role of religious coping (RCOPE), among people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). The study also examined social support as a possible mediator of the proposed association between religious coping and depressive symptoms and the impact of depressive symptomatology on health outcomes such as HIV medication adherence, immune function, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among PLWHA. Method: A convenience sample of 292 PLWHA were recruited from an out-patient infectious disease clinic and AIDS-service organizations in the Southeastern United States. Results: 56.7% reported depressive symptoms. PLWHA with depressive symptomatology reported significantly poorer health outcomes, including poorer HIV medication adherence, lower CD4 cell count, and poorer HRQOL. The odds of being depressed was significantly associated with birth sex (female: OR = 0.43, 95% CI = .23-.80), sexual orientation (gay/bisexual: OR = 1.95, 95% CI = 1.04–3.65), marital status (single: OR =.52, 95% CI =.27-.99), social support satisfaction (OR = 0.65, 95% CI = .49-.86), and negative RCOPE (OR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.14–1.31). Social support partially mediated the relationship between religious coping and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: High rates of depressive symptoms are present in PLWHA, which negatively impact health outcomes. Religious coping, perceived stress, and social support satisfaction serve an important role in depressive symptomatology among PLWHA. These findings underscore the need for healthcare providers to regularly screen PLWHA for and adequately treat depression and collaborate with mental health providers, social workers, and pastoral care counselors to address PLWHAs mental, social, and spiritual needs and optimize their HIV-related outcomes.

What New Mothers Need to Know: Perspectives from Women and Providers in Georgia

Identifying the educational and resource needs of new mothers is of paramount importance in developing programs to improve maternal and child health outcomes. The primary purpose of this study was to explore the educational needs of new mothers and identify opportunities to enhance healthcare providers’ current educational efforts. A two-part methodology was utilized to qualitatively explore the topic of parenting information needs for new mothers in Georgia. Data collection included information from 11 focus groups with 92 first-time, new mothers and 20 interviews with healthcare providers who serve new mothers. Discussions with both new mothers and providers clearly indicated that new mothers face a significant informational deficit, especially regarding very basic, daily infant care information and health literacy challenges. Educational materials already exist; however, mothers report difficulty accessing and understanding this information. For this reason, both the mothers and the providers stressed a focus on developing programs or interventions that allow in-person education and/or alternative modalities to access information, as opposed to development of new written materials solely. Information from the focus group and interviews provided important insight regarding what improvements need to be made to help new mothers and their families during the early stages of parenthood. By improving the education of new mothers and their families, it is proposed that maternal and infant health status could be improved.

Religious and Psychosocial Covariates of Health-Related Quality of Life in People Living with HIV/AIDS

HIV/AIDS is a chronic, highly stigmatized illness that requires significant lifestyle adjustments, including consistent adherence to Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) in order for People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWH) to survive and maintain good immune health. PLWH often report poor or moderate Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) that is worse than the general population. This may be related to the psychological and physiological demands of HIV disease and the sociodemographic stressors associated with it. The role of religious coping, religiosity, and social support in the mental and physical dimensions of HRQoL is less known, although recent studies highlight that PLWH rely on spirituality/religion to cope with HIV-associated stressors. This study examined the effects of religious coping, religiosity, depressive symptoms, medication adherence, and social support satisfaction in various dimensions of Health- Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) in a sample of 292 PLWH. Majority of participants were African-American (90.1%) and 56.2% were male. Mean age was 45 years and, on average, participants lived with HIV for nearly 11 years. Descriptive statistics, correlations, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), and hierarchical multiple linear regression were used to analyze the data. Income, sex (β= .14), age (β= −.14), depressive symptoms (β= −.27), and social support satisfaction (β= .17) significantly predicted physical HRQoL. Results indicate that income (β= .13), sex (β= .14), medication adherence (β= .13), negative religious coping (β= −.18), religious attendance (β= .13), religiousness (β= .16), and social support satisfaction (β= .27) significantly predicted mental HRQoL. Depressive symptoms (β= −.38), positive religious coping (β= .24), and social support satisfaction (β= .16) significantly predicted general HRQoL. Participants, who were female, prayed less than daily, attended religious services less than weekly or who were non/less religious had significantly poorer HRQoL. The findings confirm the importance of religion, mental health, medication adherence and social support in the HRQoL of PLWH, which should all be routinely assessed by clinicians.

Cross-Cultural Differences and Sexual Risk Behavior of Emerging Adults

Purpose: The authors examined population-specific risk factors that increase emerging adults’ risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including the human papillomavirus (HPV). Design and Method: A cross-sectional sample of 335 diverse, emerging adults ages 18 to 24 years was recruited from a health center at a large university in the Southeastern United States. The mean age was 20.6 ± 1.9 years, majority were females (74.0%), and 61.0% were Hispanic. Results: Findings revealed inconsistent condom use, reasons for not using condoms, and a need for more culturally specific intervention strategies. Discussion and Conclusions: Healthcare providers should identify culturally specific reasons for inconsistent condom use, examine cultural and geographic differences in sexual risk behaviors among groups and communities, and modify communication, educational programs, and interventions accordingly. Implications for Practice: By adopting a multicultural approach to the control of STIs, nurses can address specific cultural attitudes and behaviors that may influence exposure to STIs, including HPV.