Arrey Agnes Ebotabe, Bilsen Johan, Lacor Patrick, Deschepper Reginald
Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
Department of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases-AIDS Reference Center, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
PLoS One. 2016 Jul 22;11(7):e0159488. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0159488. eCollection 2016.
Spirituality/religion serves important roles in coping, survival and maintaining overall wellbeing within African cultures and communities, especially when diagnosed with a chronic disease like HIV/AIDS that can have a profound effect on physical and mental health. However, spirituality/religion can be problematic to some patients and cause caregiving difficulties. The objective of this paper was to examine the role of spirituality/religion as a source of strength, resilience and wellbeing among sub-Saharan African (SSA) migrant women with HIV/AIDS. A qualitative study of SSA migrant women was conducted between April 2013 and December 2014. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling and snowball techniques from AIDS Reference Centres and AIDS workshops in Belgium, if they were 18 years and older, French or English speaking, and diagnosed HIV positive more than 3 months beforehand. We conducted semi-structured interviews with patients and did observations during consultations and support groups attendances. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. 44 women were interviewed, of whom 42 were Christians and 2 Muslims. None reported religious/spiritual alienation, though at some point in time many had felt the need to question their relationship with God by asking "why me?" A majority reported being more spiritual/religious since being diagnosed HIV positive. Participants believed that prayer, meditation, regular church services and religious activities were the main spiritual/religious resources for achieving connectedness with God. They strongly believed in the power of God in their HIV/AIDS treatment and wellbeing. Spiritual/religious resources including prayer, meditation, church services, religious activities and believing in the power of God helped them cope with HIV/AIDS. These findings highlight the importance of spirituality in physical and mental health and wellbeing among SSA women with HIV/AIDS that should be taken into consideration in providing a caring and healthy environment.
在非洲文化和社区中，精神信仰/宗教在应对、生存及维持整体幸福感方面发挥着重要作用，尤其是当被诊断患有像艾滋病毒/艾滋病这样会对身心健康产生深远影响的慢性病时。然而，精神信仰/宗教对一些患者来说可能会带来问题，并导致护理困难。本文的目的是探讨精神信仰/宗教在撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）感染艾滋病毒/艾滋病的移民女性中作为力量、复原力和幸福感来源的作用。2013年4月至2014年12月对SSA移民女性进行了一项定性研究。通过立意抽样和滚雪球技术，从比利时的艾滋病参考中心和艾滋病研讨会上招募参与者，条件是年龄在18岁及以上、会说法语或英语，并且在3个多月前被诊断为艾滋病毒呈阳性。我们对患者进行了半结构化访谈，并在咨询和支持小组活动期间进行了观察。采用主题分析法对数据进行分析。共访谈了44名女性，其中42名是基督徒，2名是穆斯林。尽管在某些时候许多人曾有过通过问“为什么是我？”来质疑自己与上帝关系的想法，但没有人报告有宗教/精神疏离感。大多数人报告说自被诊断为艾滋病毒呈阳性以来变得更加虔诚/有宗教信仰。参与者认为祈祷、冥想、定期参加教堂礼拜和宗教活动是与上帝建立联系的主要精神/宗教资源。他们坚信上帝在他们治疗艾滋病毒/艾滋病及维持幸福感方面的力量。包括祈祷、冥想、教堂礼拜、宗教活动以及相信上帝的力量在内的精神/宗教资源帮助他们应对艾滋病毒/艾滋病。这些发现凸显了精神信仰在感染艾滋病毒/艾滋病的SSA女性身心健康和幸福感方面的重要性，在提供关爱和健康环境时应予以考虑。
