Spirituality in coping with HIV/AIDS

This article creates a general framework for spirituality and HIV/AIDS as a chronic illness using a health care perspective. Spirituality provides an important function of helping people to find meaning and purpose in their lives. Various research findings that support the use of spirituality for coping with HIV/AIDS will be provided. Having been defined as one of the coping means with HIV/AIDS, spirituality is argued in this paper as an empowering resource in both well-being of the individuals with such a life threatening illness and their adaptation to the illness process. It has been observed in many researches held in varying research designs with various patient groups that as the functioning of spirituality in the patients with HIV/AIDS increases, depression, hopelessness and level of anxiety decrease; and adaptation, life satisfaction and quality of life proliferate. This paper argues it is extremely important that the professionals in the field of health support the patients who try to cope with especially the psychological and emotional effects of the illness process not only psycho-socially but also in forming meaning and goals about life as well as empower them spiritually.