Spirituality, religiosity, and their representations for people living with HIV: daily life and its experiences.
Virginia Paiva Figueiredo Nogueira, Antonio Marcos Tosoli Gomes, Magno Conceição das Mercês and 3 others
PMID 37285576WHAT IT FOUND
People living with HIV described spirituality and religiosity as sources of strength and acceptance.
They distinguished personal connection to the divine from organized religion, noting that faith supports coping without replacing medication.
Key findings
01Participants viewed spirituality and religiosity as sources of strength that helped them accept the diagnosis and cope with daily life.
02Interviewees distinguished spirituality as a personal search for the transcendent from religiosity as adherence to religious dogmas and rituals.
03Faith practices did not replace medical treatment; participants explicitly stated they continued taking antiretroviral medication alongside prayer.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was conducted in a single specialized outpatient service in Rio de Janeiro, which may limit the generalizability of the findings to other regions or healthcare settings. The participants were recruited from a specific clinic where they had been treated for at least one year, excluding those newly diagnosed or not engaged in care.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the positive association between spirituality and coping as evidence that religious practice improves clinical outcomes like viral load or CD4 count. This qualitative study describes patient perceptions and experiences, not measured health effects.