Grant: Doctoral Research Award - Priority Announcement: HIV/AIDS - Social Science

Building on my M.A. research, my Ph.D. will examine the recent changes in HIV/AIDS policy and provincial initiatives in Atlantic Canada, through the perspective of community-based HIV agencies and women living with HIV/AIDS. My M.A. thesis, A Cross-cultural Comparison of Illness Narratives of Seropositive Women in Kenya, Africa, and New Brunswick, Canada, demonstrated that the absence of gender-specific services and changes in HIV/AIDS policy will have negative effects on the lives of people living with this disease. My research showed that current community-based HIV programs in Atlantic Canada continue to focus on the social or behavioral needs of men living with HIV/AIDS and fail to provide services that address growing rates of infection among women. According to the Public Health Department report of HIV/AIDS in New Brunswick, 76 women are living with HIV/AIDS in the province. I propose that the effect of these changes include reduced access to appropriate healthcare services of sexual and reproductive nature, increased rates of sexually transmitted infection or disease co-infections, and continuing societal stigmatization associated with HIV infection. I will conduct semi-structured interviews with community-based HIV agencies and women living with HIV/AIDS (n=100) in the Atlantic Provinces to examine the shifting provincial health policies and evaluate the appropriateness of current HIV/AIDS healthcare services. All interviews will be facilitated from the offices of AIDS Service Organizations. I will use NVivo transcribing software to identify, organize, and code interview data. The results of my study will be made available to participants and policy makers through community workshops, pamphlets, and academic publications. These findings will also serve as a model to inform policy makers, healthcare professionals, and community-based HIV agencies about the status of HIV/AIDS across Canada, and lead to the development of gender appropriate services.