Elements of Phenomenology in the Article

Elements of Phenomenology in the article

A transcendental phenomenological study has seven elements, and they are present in the article by Edwards (2006). The first element is deciding the phenomenon the study will explore. In this case, the phenomenon is “Perceived Social Support and HIV/AIDs Medication Adherence among African American Women.” According to the article, the phenomenon is important because the rate of HIV/AIDs, among African American women, is high compared to women from other ethnic groups or men. In the last few decades, the treatment of the condition has improved, but, surprisingly, the rates of infection are high, warranting further study to understand the problem. 

The second element is identifying a group of people who have experienced the phenomenon. The study has identified a group of 33 participants aged between 20 to 49 years from African American ethnic group, "female, receiving HIV care at the clinic, mentally and physically healthy, and taking antiretroviral therapy (ARV).” The group fits the typical profile of typical African American woman at high risk of contracting the virus; therefore, the study might provide useful insights into the phenomenon under investigation. Moreover, with such a representative sample, the study could generalize findings to the target group. 

The third element is the theoretical framework. In this article, the research has not identified and discussed it explicitly. However, the concept of ecology or environment factors influencing behavior is implied. The idea behind ecological factors is that external factors play a critical role in shaping behavior. In this case, compliance with medication has a social support dimension, where greater support translates into compliance with taking HIV/AIDs medication. 

The fourth element is the discussion of the researcher regarding their experiences with the phenomenon. The introductory part of the article covers this element where the author notes that despite progress in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDs, young African American women continue to contract the disease at disproportionally higher levels compared to Latino and white women. That fact calls for further study, which is what the research does. 

The fifth element is the data collection. The study used journals and semi-structured interviews to collect data from the participants. The researcher says that journaling provided an effective way of capturing the feeling of the participants and their views on the changing circumstances in their lives. The researcher could capture their feelings to assess the strength of social networks. With semi-structured interviews, the article suggests that the researcher could get personal feelings of the participants.

The sixth element is data analysis, which in this case, is the thematic approach. The responses from the participants are organized or analyzed in terms of themes. The study says that arranging responses in terms of themes gives the research a comprehensive understanding of the study or responses provided by the participants. The analysis is also grounded to allow for the emergence of sub-themes, useful in developing a deeper understanding of the data collected. 

The final element is a description of the essence of the shared experience. Based on the analysis of the study, it is evident that the participants shared with specific characteristics such as single motherhood and poverty. Those shared characteristics might explain the reason for the higher than average rates of HIV/AIDs among African American women. African American women, unlike women of other ethnicities, face specific challenges in life and their experiences are different. Those experiences shape their worldview and their response to issues such as compliance with medication and responding appropriately to protect themselves from HIV/AIDs. 

Reference

Edwards, L. (2006). Perceived Social Support and HIV/AIDS Medication Adherence Among African American Women. QUALITATIVE HEALTH RESEARCH , Vol. 16 No. 5, May 2006 679-691 DOI: 10.1177/1049732305281597