In order to better support women living with HIV in Canada, the BC-CfE’s Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual & Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) has developed new Women-Centred HIV Care Toolkits. The toolkits were created from an evidence-based, integrated knowledge translation approach.
Worldwide, women make up more than half of all people living with HIV. These women face significant gender inequities and unmet healthcare needs. Based on findings from an extensive community-collaborative research program, CHIWOS developed toolkits to guide the delivery of the “Women-Centred HIV Care” (WCHC) Model to meet the health and social needs of women living with HIV (WLWH). Through a partnership with the Centre for Effective Practice (CEP), these toolkits were developed by a national working group of clinicians, service providers, researchers and WLWH in Canada and contributions from organizational partners, including Oak Tree Clinic at BC Women’s Hospital, Women’s Health in Women’s Hands -Community Health Centre, Salamander Trust and the World Health Organization.
The toolkits were developed over 18 months (2018-2020) with WLWH meaningfully engaged throughout the process. Furthermore, CEP and CHIWOS staff conducted a systematic literature search, critically appraising current clinical practice guidelines. This process, along with expert advice, led to a prototype for target end-users across Canada. After a period of usability testing, focus groups and independent reviews, invaluable feedback was incorporated into the finalized toolkits.
In the end, two Women-Centred HIV Care Toolkits were developed: one for clinicians and other service providers and one for WLWH as a health self-advocacy and self-management tool. The toolkits provide guidance for integrated care applicable across women’s lifespan and consist of six sections: a) Person-centred care with attention to social determinants of health and family; b) Trauma- and violence- aware care; c) HIV care; d) Women’s health care, including sexual and reproductive health and rights; e) Mental and emotional health care, including addressing substance use and addiction; f) Peer support, leadership and capacity building.
The two Women-Centred HIV Care Toolkits provide user-friendly integrated guidance for clinicians, other service providers and WLWH to comprehensively address women’s unique needs and priorities. Next up for CHIWOS is the launching of these toolkits and hosting instructional webinars to support widespread use. To find out more, please visit www.chiwos.ca and follow @CHIWOSresearch on Twitter and Facebook for updates.