TY - JOUR
T1 - Qualitative exploration of psychological reactions and coping strategies of breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana
AU - Acheampong, Angela Kwartemaa
AU - Naab, Florence
AU - Kwashie, Adzo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
PY - 2017/6/24
Y1 - 2017/6/24
N2 - Background: Exploring the psychological reactions of breastfeeding mothers living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an important step which may improve guidelines for counselling. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological reactions and coping strategies of breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Methods: Qualitative descriptive exploratory design was used to explore the psychological experiences and coping strategies of 13 breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in a main referral public hospital, at the greater Accra Region of Ghana. An interview guide was designed and piloted before it was used to collect data between November, 2014 and February, 2015. Data was content analyzed for themes and subthemes to emerge. Results: The two major themes that emerged included psychological reactions and coping strategies. Some of the subthemes were fear, anxiety, blame, hope, denial, prayer and trust in positive situations of life. Conclusion: The women used denial, prayer and hope in ART, among others to cope with their emotions. This highlights the need for HIV counsellors to detect signs of denial since it can lead to non-adherence to ART as well as relapse. Health workers should therefore put the coping strategies in context during counselling of mothers in this category.
AB - Background: Exploring the psychological reactions of breastfeeding mothers living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is an important step which may improve guidelines for counselling. The purpose of this study was to explore the psychological reactions and coping strategies of breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Methods: Qualitative descriptive exploratory design was used to explore the psychological experiences and coping strategies of 13 breastfeeding mothers living with HIV in a main referral public hospital, at the greater Accra Region of Ghana. An interview guide was designed and piloted before it was used to collect data between November, 2014 and February, 2015. Data was content analyzed for themes and subthemes to emerge. Results: The two major themes that emerged included psychological reactions and coping strategies. Some of the subthemes were fear, anxiety, blame, hope, denial, prayer and trust in positive situations of life. Conclusion: The women used denial, prayer and hope in ART, among others to cope with their emotions. This highlights the need for HIV counsellors to detect signs of denial since it can lead to non-adherence to ART as well as relapse. Health workers should therefore put the coping strategies in context during counselling of mothers in this category.
KW - Breastfeeding mothers
KW - Coping strategies
KW - HIV and breastfeeding
KW - Psychological burden of mothers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85021263077&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s13006-017-0119-8
DO - 10.1186/s13006-017-0119-8
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85021263077
SN - 1746-4358
VL - 12
JO - International Breastfeeding Journal
JF - International Breastfeeding Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 28
ER -