**Forthcoming in Progress in Community Health Partnerships (PCHP) 19.3. All rights reserved.**
ABSTRACT:
Background: Spirituality is important for the well-being of marginalized women, offering strength amid adversity. However, even when women from poverty-stricken communities draw resilience from spirituality, they often continue to exhibit poorer health outcomes compared to dominant groups.
Objectives: The Flint Women’s Study was conducted to understand the needs, strengths, hopes, and solutions of women in Flint. This sub-study aims to (1) explore how spirituality influences women’s well-being and (2) elicit participants’ suggestions for how spirituality can be used to address gaps in women’s mental and physical health needs.
Methods: Community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles with a qualitative research design were applied. Using a semi-structured interview, a sample of 100 women and/or providers serving women were interviewed to explore how spirituality influences women's well-being and suggestions for addressing their mental and physical health needs.
Results: Findings revealed three key themes: (1) spirituality promoting women’s well-being (reflecting on how spirituality supports women’s physical and mental health needs); (2) criticisms and limitations of access to spirituality (underlining structural hurdles that hinder access to meeting women’s needs); and (3) recommendations for addressing women’s physical and mental health priorities.
Conclusions: Spirituality can function as a social determinant of health in marginalized communities that face multiple adversities, given its potential to promote health outcomes. Intersecting with faith-based spaces, spirituality shapes women’s well-being while also continuing to present structural barriers to accessing support. Recommendations are provided for faith-based communities to work together to promote women’s aspirations, prioritize reproductive needs, and create supportive spaces that amplify women’s voices.