One of our MUHC researchers leads the Quebec part of a pan Canadian study to help women living with HIV
Historically, in Canada, the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) has been predominantly considered a man’s disease as it has mostly affected men who have had sex with men. As a result, healthcare services for people living with HIV are frequently more adapted to men’s needs. Today, however, women represent an increasing proportion of the populations living with HIV. To improve care and services for these women, researchers of the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual & Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) are working to answer the following questions: What are the needs of women living with HIV in Canada, what are the currently available services, how do women access these services, and how can we improve them?
“What makes this research project unique is the fact that it incorporates community-based research principles: women living with HIV have been involved in the project from the very beginning, and have helped with nearly every aspect,” says Dr. Alexandra de Pokomandy, QuÂŽbec principal investigator for CHIWOS, and a researcher clinician at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) and at the Chronic Viral Illness Service of the MUHC.
“The perspective of women from the community complements that of the researchers,” she says. Indeed, these women, called Peer Research Associates (PRAs), were recruited and trained to conduct the survey interviews with over 1,000 participants from British Columbia, Ontario and Quebec.
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McGill University Health Centre
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