External Factors Associated with Community Cohesion in Women Living with HIV
Abstract
Although community cohesion has been identified as a protective factor associated with positive health outcomes, less is known about factors that increase community cohesion for women living with HIV (WLWH). We examined risk/protective factors associated with community cohesion in WLWH (N 5 56) in the US Mid-South (Mage 5 41.2 years, SD 5 9.01). Participants completed hour-long interviews. Hierarchical linear regression modeling was used to examine factors associated with community cohesion. The final model was significant, F(5, 50) 5 6.42, p, .001, adj. R2 5 33%; greater social support (b 5 .38, p, .01) and resilience (b 5 .27, p, .05) were significantly associated with better community cohesion. Given the protective benefits of community connectedness, findings suggest that nurses and community providers work with WLWH to harness friend- and family-support networks. In addition, strategies to enhance access to resilience resources would enable WLWH to recover from adversity.
Publication Title
Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care
Recommended Citation
Hardin, R., Thurston, I., Howell, K., Kamody, R., & Kaufman, C. (2020). External Factors Associated with Community Cohesion in Women Living with HIV. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 31 (2), 137-144. https://doi.org/10.1097/JNC.0000000000000123
