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 = 56) in the US Mid-South (Mage = 41.2 years, SD = 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) = 6.42, p < .001, adj. R = 33%; greater social support (b = .38, p < .01) and resilience (b = .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.