TY - JOUR
T1 - African American Elders' Serious Illness Experiences
T2 - Narratives of "god Did, " "god Will, " and "life Is Better"
AU - Coats, Heather
AU - Crist, Janice D.
AU - Berger, Ann
AU - Sternberg, Esther
AU - Rosenfeld, Anne G.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© SAGE Publications.
PY - 2017/4/1
Y1 - 2017/4/1
N2 - The foundation of culturally sensitive patient-centered palliative care is formed from one's social, spiritual, psychological, and physical experiences of serious illness. The purpose of this study was to describe categories and patterns of psychological, social, and spiritual healing from the perspectives of aging seriously ill African American (AA) elders. Using narrative analysis methodology, 13 open-ended interviews were collected. Three main patterns were "prior experiences," "I changed," and "across past, present experiences and future expectations." Themes were categorized within each pattern: been through it. made me strong, I thought about. others, went down little hills. got me down, I grew stronger, changed priorities, do things I never would have done, quit doing, God did and will take care of me, close-knit relationships, and life is better. "Faith" in God helped the aging seriously ill AA elders "overcome things," whether their current illness or other life difficulties.
AB - The foundation of culturally sensitive patient-centered palliative care is formed from one's social, spiritual, psychological, and physical experiences of serious illness. The purpose of this study was to describe categories and patterns of psychological, social, and spiritual healing from the perspectives of aging seriously ill African American (AA) elders. Using narrative analysis methodology, 13 open-ended interviews were collected. Three main patterns were "prior experiences," "I changed," and "across past, present experiences and future expectations." Themes were categorized within each pattern: been through it. made me strong, I thought about. others, went down little hills. got me down, I grew stronger, changed priorities, do things I never would have done, quit doing, God did and will take care of me, close-knit relationships, and life is better. "Faith" in God helped the aging seriously ill AA elders "overcome things," whether their current illness or other life difficulties.
KW - African Americans
KW - aging
KW - cultural competence, religion/spirituality
KW - narrative analysis
KW - palliative care
KW - southern United States
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85015030615&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85015030615&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1049732315620153
DO - 10.1177/1049732315620153
M3 - Review article
C2 - 26701962
AN - SCOPUS:85015030615
SN - 1049-7323
VL - 27
SP - 634
EP - 648
JO - Qualitative Health Research
JF - Qualitative Health Research
IS - 5
ER -