A metaphor for HIV-positive Mexican and Puerto Rican women.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) represents an overwhelming disruption for Hispanic women. This Grounded Theory (GT) (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) study sought to explore how culture guided health practices and to identify health and folkcare activities used by HIV+ Hispanic women. La Protectora (The Protectress), a theoretical framework, emerged to describe the process by which cultural beliefs guided Hispanic women's health practices and how they dealt with life after their affirmation of HIV status. Five main categories emerged to describe the process. Knowledge about how culture influences HIV+ Hispanic women obtain and/or make decisions about health care will contribute to a foundation for theory development and subsequent theory testing.