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Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Increasing the Meaningful Involvement of Women Living With HIV/AIDS (MIWA) in the Design and Delivery of HIV/AIDS Services
Summary
The article explores the meaningful involvement of women living with HIV/AIDS in the CHIWOS study from the principle to practice in BC. The study highlights the tension, benefits, and impact on care and health as they navigate their roles of service users and providers in their communities.
Key Findings
Gendered vulnerabilities influence women’s lives and care experiences. Benefits and tensions exist when it comes to involvement of women living with HIV as both service users and service providers. Women living with HIV face systemic inequality that corresponds with a lack of equal opportunities, to learn further about this issue, 77 women were recruited, hired, and trained as peer research associated. Benefits through having peers in the support system brings positive impact on their ongoing engagement in care, overall health and well-being, also having support system through others with similar experience creates trust and connection. However certain issues persist such as fear of walking to organizations that are visible from the streets, lack of support outside of Vancouver, also challenges in being both user and provider. Having role challenges compromise with their access to care, for example a user that want to fill a paid position as a provider often do not receive fair compensation, or certain organization policy that require them to no longer access the service prior being employed. Often there is no policy or guidelines regarding hiring peers within the organization. Although it’s important to have other peers with lived experience to support one another and provide service, challenges such as status transparency, privacy, and confidentiality should be taken into consideration and implement strategies to address them.
Key findings related to emerging/promising principles for engaging PWLLE:
- Involvement of peers as a service user and provider bring positive impact on overall health, well-being, and ongoing access to support
- Challenges in fulfilling two roles came from lack of guidelines, unequal pay, and stigma which affect their access to care
Key findings related to emerging/promising practices for engaging PWLLE:
- Involving more user as provider without having to sacrifice their own care or access to support
Key Findings Related Implementation Approaches:
- Involving more user as provider without having to sacrifice their own care or access to support
