Spirituality, social capital and service

Factors promoting resilience among Expert Patients living with HIV in Ethiopia

Dados Bibliográficos

ID15541111
AutoresSophia Ahmed Hussen (0000-0002-5726-1637, Emory University, autor correspondente), Mulugeta Tsegaye (All Africa Leprosy Tuberculosis and Rehabilitation Training Centre), Meron Gurji Argaw (All Africa Leprosy Tuberculosis and Rehabilitation Training Centre), Karen L Andes (Emory University), Danielle Gilliard (Emory University), Carlos Del Rio (0000-0002-0153-3517, Emory University)
Ano2014
Volume9
Fascículo3
Páginas286-298
Data de publicação2014-02-13
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoGlobal Public Health (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1744-1692 • E-ISSN: 1744-1706
EditoraTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/17441692.2014.880501
PMID24520996
PMCIDPMC4033693
OpenAlexW1965385398
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas16
Referências citadas20

People living with HIV (PLHIV) in Ethiopia and other developing nations face numerous challenges to their health and well-being, including poverty, limited healthcare infrastructure and high levels of societal stigma. Despite these challenges, resilient trajectories have been observed even within such resource-limited settings. In Ethiopia, such resilience is exemplified by the 'Expert Patients (EPTs)', HIV-positive lay health workers who function as adherence counsellors, health educators, outreach workers and community advocates. We conducted a multi-method qualitative study with 20 EPTs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in order to understand pathways to resilience in this selected population. Participants described three key mechanisms of resilient coping: (1) the use of spirituality and faith-based practices to manage psychological difficulties associated with living with HIV; (2) utilisation of social capital from family and community networks as a buffer against the psychological and economic consequences of societal stigma; and (3) serving others as a mechanism for finding optimism and purpose in life. Interventions designed to facilitate and/or augment these social processes in the wider community may be promising strategies for improving health among PLHIV in Ethiopia and other resource-limited settings

Developing country · Economic growth · Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV · Optimism · Population · Poverty · Psychiatry · Psychological intervention · Psychological resilience · Social capital · Social science · Social stigma · Social support · Sociology · Stigma (botany · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Nursing · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology