Sub-Saharan African Women Living with HIV/AIDS: An Exploration of General and Spiritual Coping Strategies

Abstract

From a global perspective, the typical person living with HIV/AIDS is likely a sub-Saharan African woman. Yet despite calls from NASW to adopt a global outlook on the HIV/AIDS crisis, little research has examined how such women cope. In this study, the authors used a mixed-methods approach to explore how one sample of sub-Saharan African women (N = 162) attending an AIDS clinic in Entebbe, Uganda, cope with their circumstances. The results reveal the importance of indigenous service providers, spirituality, and, to a lesser extent, social support. Approximately 85 percent of the women reported that spirituality played some role in their ability to cope. Among these, 43 percent indicated that spirituality was the most important factor that kept them going. The most widely used spiritual coping strategies consisted of support from other believers, prayer, and trusting in God.

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