Yale University

Beliefs about HIV disease and medication adherence in persons living with HIV/AIDS in rural southeastern North Carolina.

TitleBeliefs about HIV disease and medication adherence in persons living with HIV/AIDS in rural southeastern North Carolina.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2008
AuthorsKemppainen, Jeanne, Yeoun Soo Kim-Godwin, Nancy R. Reynolds, and Valerie S. Spencer
JournalThe Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care : JANAC
Volume19
Issue2
Pagination127-36
Date Published2008 Mar-Apr
ISSN1055-3290
KeywordsAdaptation, Psychological, Adult, African Americans, Anti-HIV Agents, Causality, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Health Services Needs and Demand, HIV Infections, Humans, Internal-External Control, Male, Middle Aged, North Carolina, Patient Compliance, Patient Education as Topic, Questionnaires, Rural Population, Self Care, Spirituality
AbstractThe purpose of this study was to assess personal beliefs about the causes and meaning of having HIV disease and personal beliefs about medication adherence in persons living in rural southeastern North Carolina. Of the total sample of 34 participants, 29 (85%) were African American. The sample included 21 men (62%) and 13 women (38%), with a self-reported mean CD4 count of 499.38 (SD = 377.69) and a mean duration of HIV of 8.0 years. The majority of participants held beliefs that HIV was a serious and chronic condition and that the disease could be controlled by HIV therapies. Participants offered disparate views about whether or not the course of HIV disease was amenable to personal control. The persons who held the belief that the cause of HIV/AIDS was because of chance/bad luck (p = .03) or God's will (p < .001) were also most likely to believe that the progression of their HIV disease depended on chance or fate. The respondents currently taking HIV medication were also more likely to believe that HIV was caused by chance or bad luck (p = .038) or God's will (p = .016). The results reflect the important role of spirituality on self- regulation of illness and treatment in the rural southern culture.
DOI10.1016/j.jana.2007.08.006
Alternate JournalJ Assoc Nurses AIDS Care

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