Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

With advances in treatment and medical care, HIV is no longer a death sentence. People are living longer, healthier lives with HIV compared to the early years of the epidemic. This has led to an important shift in the reproductive health needs of people living with HIV, particularly women. Today, women living with HIV, who make up nearly a quarter of the people living with HIV in Canada and over half of the people living with HIV around the world, have similar reproductive desires to HIV-negative women. Although medical and scientific advancements have been made, healthcare practices have lagged behind. Women living with HIV in most countries, including Canada receive subpar reproductive healthcare. Healthcare providers are not always aware that women living with HIV who are on treatment and have a suppressed viral load can safely conceive through sex without condoms. Additionally, healthcare providers are not always aware of the importance of addressing the reproductive desires of women living with HIV, which include wanting to become pregnant, avoid or terminate a pregnancy and control the spacing between pregnancies. To improve reproductive healthcare, we need to understand the gaps in care and strategies to address them. Data were analyzed from 536 women living with HIV (16-45 years old) enrolled in a Canadian study designed by and for women living with HIV. We examined whether women discussed their reproductive goals with their healthcare providers and found that the majority did not. We also found that women reported feeling more comfortable discussing their reproductive goals with healthcare providers who are women. The results support evidence-based recommendations on the best strategies to deliver care that meets the needs and priorities of women living with HIV in Canada. Findings are also relevant internationally where delivering reproductive healthcare for women living with HIV is central to supporting human rights and achieving gender equity.