Spirituality and Dignity of Thai Adolescents Living with HIV

Abstract

(1) Background: Adolescents are a key asset and resource for the social and economic development of any country, with the potential to make a significant contribution to their families, communities and countries. Healthy and educated adolescents are important. However, there are still significant rates of death, illness and disease among adolescents in some countries, where HIV is one of the most prevalent causes of death in this group. Adolescents living with HIV may experience and encounter social restrictions and physiological limitations. Therefore, this investigation explored whether the concepts of spirituality and dignity had any relevance to participants sense of meaning and purpose and whether these had any impact upon their health and well-being (2) Methods: A qualitative descriptive design was used involving twenty-two adolescents living with HIV attending one regional hospital in Southern Thailand. One to one interviews and descriptive diaries were used to collect the data and thematic analysis enabled the identification of attributes of spirituality and dignity. The findings provide helpful insights for parents, nurses, and other health professionals supporting adolescents living with HIV to obtain a holistic, dignified approach to care that includes attention to the spiritual dimension.

The Roles of Spirituality in People Living with HIV/AIDS: A Qualitative Meta-synthesis

“…Most of the participants described that the sources of spiritual support resulted from believing in God .3,7-8,26,28-31 On the other hand, PLWHA in Thailand indicated that the source of spirituality came from religious practice, family support and adherence to the Lord Buddha's teachings. [9][10][11]27 The above factors provided the PLWHA with the power to manage stressful life events and illness. The participants described the positive roles of spirituality in life.…”

“…9 The above factors can cultivate inner strength for PLWHA who are Buddhists. [9][10][11] Illness Understanding and Self-acceptance: The participants perceived that a higher power or God had a purpose to inflicting this illness on them. He aimed at teaching the participants, changing lifestyles, creating relationships and forming connections.…”

“…He aimed at teaching the participants, changing lifestyles, creating relationships and forming connections. [8][9]11,27,29,31 Spiritual roles helped the participants reduce self-blame, forgive self and others, and create self-esteem. 27 Being diagnosed with HIV triggered the patients to participate in spiritual reflections in an attempt to find meaning in life and might have brought the participants closer to God, increase church attendance or enhance spirituality.…”

“…9 Moreover, when PLWHA accepted both illness and self, they were able to improve self-esteem and well-being similar to other people. [9][10][11] Improve Self-health Care: The participants perceived that spirituality improved self-health care because spirituality assisted them to find the meaning of illness, understanding the illness, and accepting their illness. 8,11,31 It encouraged them to focus on healthy lifestyles in order to increase longevity by taking medication, performing regular exercise, eating healthy foods, getting plenty of rest, sleeping well and preventing health risks.…”

“…The Roles of Spirituality in People Living with HIV/AIDS: A Qualitative Meta-synthesis Seeger, 2007 26 Foster et al, 201 13 Tawaisab, 2011 27 Mbetbo, 201 37 Caixeta et al, 2012 28 Dalmida et al, 2012 29 Balthip et al 8,28 ; peaceful 7,9,27 ; happiness 27 -inner strength 8,27,29, ; self-control8; empowerment 3,8 ; keep going 28,29 ; relieve the fear of death 8 ; self-consciousness 27 -understanding and accepting illness [8][9]11,30 ; reduce self-blame, self-acceptance, self-forgiveness 8,26,28 ; self-esteem 26 -self-healthcare 8,11,30 -sympathy, empathy, compassion 3,27 ; responses for others 11 -purposes of life 11 -maintaining hope 11 , making choice, second chance 11,28 -social support, sense of belonging [7][8]26 ; connect with god or higher power 7,8,[28][29][30][31] -feeling guilty 7…”