Emotional Experiences of Mothers Living With HIV and the Quest for Emotional Recovery: A Qualitative Study in Lima, Peru.
Carmen Contreras, Nancy Rumaldo, Michael Masao Lindeborg and 10 others
PMID 31241508WHAT IT FOUND
Eight mothers living with HIV described fear, denial and guilt after diagnosis, especially about children and breastfeeding.
Seven later described moving toward acceptance through family, faith and their children's support.
Key findings
01Seven women reported sadness after receiving an HIV diagnosis, and three avoided accepting it, all after routine pregnancy testing.
02Six participants feared sharing the diagnosis with family; two intended to disclose but never did, and four ultimately disclosed.
03Seven participants described moving toward acceptance, adaptation and self-motivation over time, and five reported emotional or economic support from immediate families, including children.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only eight women were interviewed, so the themes describe their experiences and cannot be treated as evidence about all mothers living with HIV. The study did not test an intervention or measure outcomes. Time since diagnosis varied widely, from 35 days to 9.11 years, and some women had started ART irregularly, which could affect recall and emotional intensity. Participants were women in Lima living in extreme poverty who had recently started ART, so findings may not transfer to other settings or populations.
Declared interests
The supplied publication types list Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural. The article text does not include an author conflict-of-interest statement.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reported transition to acceptance as proof that emotional recovery follows a fixed sequence or that support programmes work. This was a qualitative study of eight women, and it reports themes from interviews, not tested effects.