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The Meaning of Widowhood and Health to Older Middle-Class Hindu Widows Living in a South Indian Community

Indian widowhood has long been associated with victimization and vulnerability, but traditional attitudes toward widowhood are changing and reflect the rapid changes occurring in India. Using Caring Inquiry, a phenomenological-hermeneutic methodology that places caring at its center, this article presents a study that explores the meaning of health and widowhood to 14 older middle-class Hindu widows living in urban South India. From the data emerge six metathemes that are pertinent to nursing praxis and the delivery of health care to widows in South India: (a) Drawing From Within, (b) Seeking Help and Guidance, (c) Accepting the Role, (d) Challenging Tradition, (e) Serving Others, and (f) Finding Companionship. The findings reveal that all the widows share a common desire to move on with life, articulated by one widow as “The Show Must Go On,” which serves as a foundation for a theory and model of the meaning of widowhood and health to older middle-class South Indian Hindu widows. This study advances the limited body of knowledge on the lives and health of these widows.