Problem
The authors of the article under analysis admit that the topic of HIV infections is widely spread in the United States and underline the fact that Hispanic women aged 50 are under a serious threat of having this disease despite numerous discussions and social practices.
Therefore, they suggest focusing on and discussing the importance of such vulnerability-increasing factors as intimate partner violence, perimenopausal-postmenopausal related biological changes, cultural norms, emotional and psychological issues, knowledge gaps, low-risk perception, high-risk sexual behaviors, and test ignorance (Cianelli et al., 2013). This problem is important because people have never neglected the possibility of HIV in their lives, and the example of Hispanic women could provide the required portion of information and explanations.
Review of Literature
The majority of sources are pertinent to the study. Regarding the fact that the article was written in 2013, it is expected to observe the sources that were written between 2003 and 2013. The authors used a lot of peer-reviewed articles and reports to explain what has been already known about the concept, what shortages could be identified, and what people think about different factors that could influence the risks of getting HIC infection.
The material is introduced in several sections with clear titles. The authors aim at describing the factors mentioned in the introductory part and identify the theoretical perspectives of the study with the help of the theories about behavioral changes developed by Bandura in 1995 and the investigations of Moracco, Hilton, Hodges, and Fraiser (2005) about the gender roles and the divisions on machismo and marianismo.
Design and Procedures
The authors used mixed methods to gather qualitative and quantitative information. The study is based on a qualitative descriptive method and the focus groups approach to disclose the aspects. The participants were appropriate as they had to pass a number of inclusive criteria such as self-identity, age, sexual activity, and the place of living. Saturation was used to determine the sample size (Cianelli et al., 2013).
Data Analysis
Content analysis was introduced as the main method to clarify the main themes of the study, recognize, code, and categorize the information. The analysis of transcripts was based on the directed content analysis. The authors described the process of transforming the data into codes clearly and specified that three coders were used to read the transcripts and code them in lines. Despite the fact that triangulation was not reported in the study, the findings turned out to be consistent and reflective of data. All results were properly compared. They obtained a 90% agreement among all research team members. Therefore, it is possible to say that the results and data analysis are successful in the article.
Conclusions and Implications
The current study provides a significant contribution to the existing level of knowledge that involves old Hispanic women (OHW) and the already defined HIV risk factors. Taking into consideration the fact that not much research was conducted with OHW, the findings of this article’s authors help to understand that OHW lacks appropriate HIV prevention messages to protect their health. The main implication of the study is the identification of the need to motivate the community, conduct further investigations in the same sphere, and contribute to the prevention activities that could protect people against HIV. In general, it is possible to say that the findings of the article serve as a significant contribution to the theory development and future practice that could improve the lives of ordinary people.
Reference
Cianelli, R., Villegas, N., Lawson, S., Ferrer, L., Kaelber, L., Peragallo, N., & Yaya, A. (2013). Unique factors that place older Hispanic women at risk for HIV: Intimate partner violence, machismo, and marianismo. Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care, 24(4), 341-354.
Moracco, K.E., Hilton, A., Hodges, K.G., & Frasier, P.Y. (2005). Knowledge and attitudes about intimate partner violence among immigrant Latinos in rural North Carolina baseline information and implications for outreach. Violence Against Women, 11, 337–352.