A Phenomenological Study of Obesity and Physical Activity in Southern African American Older Women

2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela G. Bowen ◽  
Yvonne D. Eaves ◽  
David E. Vance ◽  
Linda D. Moneyham
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Older Women ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Conditions ◽  
Culturally Appropriate ◽  
Analysis Framework ◽  
American Women

African American women are more likely to be classified as overweight or obese than European American women and little is known about this phenomenon. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of overweight and obese African American older women living in the southern regions of the United States. Semistructured, audiotaped interviews were conducted to elicit narratives from nine participants. Interview data were transcribed verbatim and then coded and analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological analysis framework. Three major categories emerged: impact of health conditions, incongruent perceptions, and the desire for independence. The focus of culturally appropriate interventions aimed at increasing physical activity for this group should incorporate activities that will help them remain independent, because weight loss is not a primary motivator.

scholarly journals Is Physical Activity a Buffer? Gendered Racial Microaggressions and Anxiety Among African American Women

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 122-143
Author(s):  
LaTrice N. Wright ◽  
Jioni A. Lewis
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Racial Microaggressions ◽  
The United States ◽  
Stress Appraisal ◽  
Gendered Racism ◽  
Anxious Arousal ◽  
American Women

The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between gendered racism (i.e., the simultaneous experience of racism and sexism) and anxiety among African American women. The study also tested the moderating role of physical activity in the link between gendered racism and anxiety. It was hypothesized that a subtle form of gendered racism (i.e., gendered racial microaggressions) would significantly predict anxious arousal. We also hypothesized that physical activity would buffer the relations between gendered racial microaggressions and anxiety. Participants were 249 African American women residing in the United States, who completed an online survey. Results from hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that a greater frequency and stress appraisal of gendered racial microaggressions significantly predicted greater anxious arousal. Results also suggested that physical activity did not buffer the association between gendered racial microaggressions and anxiety. This study has implications for highlighting the importance of exploring variables that might serve to buffer African American women against the stress of gendered racism experienced in their everyday lives.

African American Women Speak: A Phenomenological Study of African American Women’s Beliefs and Perceptions about Compliance to Treatment Regimen in the Healthcare System

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice Kennedy ◽  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
African American ◽  
African Americans ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Treatment Regimen ◽  
Healthcare System ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
American Women

African Americans comprise approximately 13% of the U.S. Population; however African American women are in the upper percentile of healthcare diseases that are preventable such as cardiovascular disorders (e.g., heart disease, blood pressure, and strokes), cancer, and diabetes and HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to provide a forum for African American women living in a southeastern state of the United States to share their experiences with the healthcare system and health practices. The Health Belief Model was a useful health promotion framework for guiding this study. This study sought to answer the following research question: (a) What do African American women report about their beliefs and perceptions about affecting treatment regimen in the healthcare system. The research study consisted of 50 African American women recruited from various communities in one rural county of a southern state in the United States. Results of findings consist of nine themes: The nine themes were as follows: (a) distrust of health care providers; (b) difficulties communicating to health provider; (c) poor quality of patient education instructions; (d) lack of knowledge about treatment regimen; (e) Inadequate time management and inability to manage health treatment regimen; (f) inadequate access to care; (f) unaffordable cost; (g) lack of healthy lifestyle practices; and (I) inadequate coping skills. The community /public health nurse is in a key position to advocate and promote health promotion programs for vulnerable groups in communities. Forming partnerships would be useful in developing programs to improve the overall health needs of African American women. Culture competent education for health professionals remains a critical issue in the current health system when improving compliance with the treatment regimen for African American. Future research needs to examine the contributing psychosocial factors of African Americans and compliance with the treatment regime.

scholarly journals Structural Violence of Schooling: A Genealogy of a Critical Family History of Three Generations of African American Women in a Rural Community in Florida

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Evelyn Newman Phillips ◽  
Wangari Gichiru
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
Family History ◽  
African American Women ◽  
White Supremacy ◽  
Structural Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Structural Barriers ◽  
American Women ◽  
Three Generations ◽  
American Children

Through the lens of structural violence, Black feminism and critical family history, this paper explores how societal structures informed by white supremacy shaped the lives of three generations of rural African American women in a family in Florida during the middle to the late twentieth century. Specifically, this study investigates how disparate funding, segregation, desegregation, poverty and post-desegregation policies shaped and limited the achievement trajectories among these women. Further, an oral historical examination of their lives reveals the strategies they employed despite their under-resourced and sometimes alienating schooling. The paper highlights the experiences of the Newman family, descendants of captive Africans in the United States that produced three college-educated daughters and a granddaughter despite structural barriers that threatened their progress. Using oral history interviews, archival resources and first-person accounts, this family’s story reveals a genealogy of educational achievement, barriers and agency despite racial and gendered limitations in a Southern town. The findings imply that their schooling mirrors many of the barriers that other Blacks face. However, this study shows that community investment in African American children, plus teachers that affirm students, and programs such as Upward Bound, help to advance Black students in marginalized communities. Further, these women’s lives suggest that school curriculums need to be anti-racist and public policies that affirm each person regardless of the color of their skin. A simple solution that requires the structural violence of whiteness be eliminated from the schooling spheres.

Increasing physical activity with African–American women using Facebook™ and Pedometers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donna J. Biederman ◽  
Valerie K. Sabol ◽  
Julie Thompson ◽  
Quiana Duncan ◽  
Katherine C. Pereira
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
American Women

“I Don’t Know and I Don’t Want to Know”: A Qualitative Examination of Older African American Women’s Knowledge and Experiences With HIV

2018 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 644-666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Faye Z. Belgrave ◽  
Sarah J. Javier ◽  
Deborah Butler ◽  
Chelsie Dunn ◽  
Joann Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
African American ◽  
African American Women ◽  
Black Church ◽  
The United States ◽  
Sociocultural Factors ◽  
Hiv Knowledge ◽  
Female Population ◽  
American Women ◽  
Heterosexual Women ◽  
Older African American Women

While older African American women (e.g., aged 50 years and older) comprise only 11% of the female population in the United States, they account for 50% of HIV diagnoses among women in this age group. Unique sociocultural factors, including a lack of HIV knowledge and stigma, contribute to HIV risk among older African American women. The goal of this qualitative study was to obtain a nuanced perspective from older African American women about HIV knowledge and experiences with HIV using the framework of intersectionality theory. Focus groups were conducted with 35 African American women who were 50 years and older, nonpartnered, and heterosexual. Women were asked what they knew about HIV and if they thought older women were at risk for HIV. A thematic analysis using NVivo 11 yielded two central themes and three subthemes: HIV knowledge, including experiential knowledge, superficial knowledge, and no knowledge, and stigma around HIV in the Black church. Implications for developing HIV prevention programs and testing messages are discussed.

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