Complex Lives: Resiliency of Midlife African American Women Living with HIV/AIDS Serving As Informal Kinship Care Providers

• Main Author: Stokes, Charu
• Format: Others
• Language: English
• Published: Boston College 2012
• Subjects: HIV/AIDS; kinship care; midlife African American women; resiliency model
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:104415

Thesis advisor: Ruth McRoy === Historically, many midlife African American women have served as kinship care providers for children in the family. These parenting responsibilities present even greater challenges for the increasing and disproportionately high number of African American women in this age group who also are living with HIV/AIDS. Even though there have been technological innovations in treating and managing HIV infection, HIV is the fourth leading cause of death among midlife African American women. Despite the existing research on African American women with HIV/AIDS and on African American kinship caregivers, significant research with a specific focus on resiliency within this population has not been conducted. To fill this gap, using a resiliency model as a conceptual framework, the researcher conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with a convenience sample of 24 middle-aged African American women with HIV/AIDS who are providing informal kinship care. Implications for policy, research, and practice are provided and suggestions for health care providers and child welfare professionals regarding how to support these women and children through enhanced services and other interventions. === Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2012. === Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. === Discipline: Social Work.