The correlation between health and spirituality within the field of chronic illness is assessed, with a view to understanding how individuals seek support to strengthen themselves against the adversities imposed by the disease. Qualitative methodology was used to discuss issues relating to religiousness that emerged in the words used by people living with HIV. Based on their narratives, reports on religiousness and its influence on the health-disease process were analyzed thematically. Some relationships pointing towards positive and/or negative religious ways of coping with the disease, changes in religious thought and behavior, and the importance of religious experience on how individuals develop their narratives of illness, were observed. Attention was drawn to the need for healthcare professionals to be aware of the emergence of such content, since this brings out factors involved in therapeutic issues, like compliance, social support, conflicts and individuality, which may help them in coping with the disease.
Chronic illness; HIV; Religion; Narrative