A holistic life view of human immunodeficiency virus-infected African American women

Minority women represent the fastest growing segment of the population to acquire HIV/AIDS in the United States. Although African American women are a large proportion of this group, no published study has concentrated solely on a holistic view of the experiences of HIV-infected African American women. The primary purpose of this phenomenological pilot study was to describe the lives of five HIV-infected African American women. Audiotaped interviews were conducted and subsequently were examined, using Giorgi's steps of analysis. Twelve themes emerged from the data: violence, addiction, it couldn't happen to me, shock and denial, education, time, uncertainty, cycles, secretive nature of their lives, someone, survival, and children. It is clear, even from this small pilot study, that these women have complex experiences that must be better understood before effective health care interventions can be designed and implemented.