New Canadian study of women living with HIV launched

published on October 1, 2013

Results will inform decisions on how to maximize delivery of treatment and care to women living with HIV in Canada

Vancouver, B.C. [October 1, 2013] — A new Canadian study launched today will investigate gaps in women’s access to healthcare and social support services in order to better deliver care and improved health outcomes for women living with HIV in Canada.

The Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) is the country’s largest multi-site, longitudinal, community-based research study focusing solely on women living with HIV. Researchers will recruit and enroll over 1,250 HIV-positive women living in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. The study is being launched at the start of Women’s Health Awareness Month.

“Providing all people living with HIV with appropriate and timely treatment and care is critical in reducing HIV-related morbidity, mortality, and new HIV transmissions,” said Dr. Robert Hogg, CHIWOS co-principal investigator and director of the Epidemiology and Population Health Program at the BC Centre for Excellence HIV/AIDS. “Women face unique barriers accessing treatment and care. The CHIWOS study will help identify gender-appropriate approaches necessary to ensure women receive comprehensive and high-quality HIV care that more fully meets their unique needs.”

In Canada, an estimated 16,600 women are living with HIV/AIDS out of an estimated 71,300 Canadians living with HIV/AIDS. Women also represent an increasing proportion of positive HIV test reports, accounting for 23% of the Canada total in 2011, nearly double the proportion observed in 1999 (12%).

“The increasing burden of HIV/AIDS on Canada’s female population is concerning,” said Dr. Angela Kaida, an assistant professor at Simon Fraser University and CHIWOS co-principal investigator leading the study in BC. “There is a clear and long overdue need for research that acknowledges and addresses the gendered barriers to HIV treatment and care for Canadian women. The results of this study will show where further efforts are needed to maximize the beneficial effects of available interventions and ensure these trends are reversed.”

Research has demonstrated that women face greater biological susceptibility to HIV, in addition to increased vulnerability due to social factors such as poverty, marginalization, violence, and gender inequity. CHIWOS investigators expect the study will yield critical information which will help to fill knowledge gaps about women, HIV, and HIV/AIDS care, and will enable improvements in the health, care, and well-being of women living with HIV in Canada.

“This study is giving a voice to women who previously had no voice,” said Valerie Nicholson, an HIV-positive woman and CHIWOS peer research associate. “My hope is this research will ensure the women in my community, and our children and grandchildren, don’t have to face the same barriers to care I have experienced in my lifetime.”

CHIWOS study participants will complete a questionnaire with a trained peer interviewer, with a follow-up interview 18-months later. Interviews will take place at clinics, AIDS service organizations, and other community-based organizations across the three study provinces.

CHIWOS is led by a team of co-Principal Investigators. Dr. Angela Kaida (Simon Fraser University - BC), Dr. Mona Loutfy (Women’s College Research Institute - ON), and Dr. Alexandra de Pokomandy (McGill University Health Centre - QC) lead each provincial team. Dr. Bob Hogg (British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS/Simon Fraser University) leads the connection of CHIWOS to the Canadian Observational Cohort (CANOC) study. Study results will be released in early 2015.

For more information about the survey and CHIWOS, please visit www.chiwos.ca.

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About the British Columbia Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is Canada’s largest HIV/AIDS research, treatment and education facility and is internationally recognized as an innovative world leader in combating HIV/AIDS and related diseases. BC-CfE is based at St. Paul’s Hospital, Providence Health Care, a teaching hospital of the University of British Columbia. The BC-CfE works in close collaboration with key provincial stakeholders, including health authorities, health care providers, academics from other institutions, and the community to decrease the health burden of HIV and AIDS. By developing, monitoring and disseminating comprehensive research and treatment programs for HIV and related illnesses, the BC-CfE helps improve the health of British Columbians living with HIV.

For additional information or to request interviews, please contact:

Kevin Hollett
BC-CfE
Phone: 604-682-2344 ext. 66536
Mobile: 778-848-3420
Email: khollett@cfenet.ubc.ca

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New Canadian study of women living with HIV launched

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