Involving religious leaders in HIV care and treatment at a university-affiliated hospital in Ethiopia

Application of formative inquiry

Bibliographic Data

ID15540303
AuthorsMeheret Endeshaw (University of Washington, corresponding author), Shitaye Alemu (University of Gondar), Nancy Andrews (Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Region), Abere Dessie (University of Gondar), Sarah Frey (University of Washington), Sarah Rawlins (Harborview Medical Center), JL Walson (0000-0003-4836-720X, University of Washington), Deepa Rao (0000-0003-4076-0170, University of Washington)
Year2015
Volume12
Issue4
Pages416-431
Publication date2015-08-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441692.2015.1069868
PMID26256618
OpenAlexW1952912245
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited37

In sub-Saharan Africa, religious views strongly influence how people relate to illness, health, and healing. Belief in the curative power of religion, including for HIV, persists in many communities. As such, many funding agencies and organisations working in the field of HIV have incorporated religious institutions into their programmes in various capacities. Yet, debate continues regarding the benefits and drawbacks of including sectarian organisations in the fight against HIV. In the current study, we sought to explore whether patients with HIV would be amenable to receiving HIV-related psychosocial support from religious leaders. We interviewed 48 Ethiopian Orthodox Church followers who presented for routine HIV care at Gondar University Hospital ART (antiretroviral treatment) clinic. Although almost half (46%) of participants self-identified as 'very religious', the majority of them (73%) had not disclosed their HIV status to a religious leader. Study participants highlighted multiple factors that could potentially affect their willingness to involve religious leaders in their HIV care. We discuss these findings in relation to religion and HIV in the African context. Our findings support the use of formative qualitative work prior to developing and implementing programmes that integrate faith and medical communities

Context (archaeology · Faith · Family medicine · Formative assessment · Health care · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Pedagogy · Political science · Psychiatry · Psychosocial · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology