Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jun;101(6):972-8.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2010.300081. Epub 2011 Apr 14.

Beyond faith-based organizations: using comparative institutional ethnography to understand religious responses to HIV and AIDS in Brazil

Miguel A Muñoz-Laboy  1 , Laura Murray, Natalie Wittlin, Jonathan Garcia, Veriano Terto Jr, Richard G Parker
Affiliations

Beyond faith-based organizations: using comparative institutional ethnography to understand religious responses to HIV and AIDS in Brazil

Miguel A Muñoz-Laboy et al. Am J Public Health. 2011 Jun.

Abstract

Religious institutions, which contribute to understanding of and mobilization in response to illness, play a major role in structuring social, political, and cultural responses to HIV and AIDS. We used institutional ethnography to explore how religious traditions--Catholic, Evangelical, and Afro-Brazilian--in Brazil have influenced HIV prevention, treatment, and care at the local and national levels over time. We present a typology of Brazil's division of labor and uncover overlapping foci grounded in religious ideology and tradition: care of people living with HIV among Catholics and Afro-Brazilians, abstinence education among Catholics and Evangelicals, prevention within marginalized communities among Evangelicals and Afro-Brazilians, and access to treatment among all traditions. We conclude that institutional ethnography, which allows for multilevel and interlevel analysis, is a useful methodology.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Typology of AIDS religious division of labor in Brazil, 1989–2009. Note. PLWHIV = people living with HIV.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. National Research Council Panel on monitoring the social impact of the AIDS epidemic, religion and religious groups. : Jonsen AR, Stryker J, The Social Impact of AIDS in the United States. Washington, DC: National Academy Press; 1993:117–157 - PubMed
    1. Galva˜o J. As respostas religiosas frente à epidemia de HIV/AIDS no Brasil [Religious responses to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Brazil]. : Parker R, Políticas, Instituições e AIDS: Enfrentando a Epidemia no Brasil [Politics, Institutions and AIDS: Confronting the Epidemic in Brazil]. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Jorge Zahar/ABIA; 1997:109–134
    1. Coleman CL. The contribution of religious and existential well-being to depression among African American heterosexuals with HIV infection. Issues Ment Health Nurs. 2004;25(1):103–110 - PubMed
    1. Costello CL. Religion and AIDS-related bereavement: a study of partners and family members. Dissertation Abstracts Int. 1993;54(6-B):3335
    1. Crawford I, Allison KW, Robinson WL, Hughes D, Samaryk M. Attitudes of African-American Baptist ministers toward AIDS. J Community Psychol. 1992;20:304–308

Publication types