Effects of Spirituality on Health-Related Quality of Life in Men With HIV/AIDS: Implications for Counseling

✍ Scribed by Marsha Wiggins Frame; Constance R. Uphold; Constance L. Shehan; Kimberly J. Reid

• Publisher: American Counseling Association
• Year: 2005
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 91 KB
• Volume: 50
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0160-7960
• DOI: 10.1002/j.2161-007x.2005.tb00037.x

✦ Synopsis

Spiritual coping (i.e., relying on religion-based coping techniques) was not associated with health-related quality of life at baseline or 12-month followup. Spiritual growth (i.e., existential feelings of connection with a force greater than oneself) improved some aspects of mental and emotional well-being but did not affect physical functioning or pain management.

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earning that one has contracted HIV/AIDS often results in a crisis that precipitates emotional distress and existential anxiety. However, beginning in 1996, researchers began discovering declines in deaths among persons with AIDS. Indeed, survival time after an AIDS diagnosis improved significantly from 1984 to 1997 . The effectiveness of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) seems to account for some of the improved survival rates . In spite of the likelihood of living with HIV/AIDS for a median of 9 years because of new drug therapies such as HAART, persons with HIV/AIDS diagnoses must still marshal all of the coping mechanisms available to deal with the stressors associated with managing the disease. These demands include compliance with pharmacological regimens and lifestyle adjustments . In addition, persons with HIV/