Grant: Doctoral Research Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

My doctoral research aims to produce much-needed evidence to support high-quality reproductive healthcare for women living with HIV. With advances in treatment and medical care, HIV is no longer a death sentence. People are living longer, healthier lives with HIV. 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 all 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 with essentially no risk of transmitting the virus to their sexual partners. Additionally, HIV stigma still affects women's experiences with family planning. To improve reproductive healthcare, we must understand the gaps in care and develop strategies to address them. Using data from 1,422 women living with HIV enrolled in a Canadian study designed by and for women living with HIV, I will identify the barriers and facilitators to women discussing their reproductive goals with their healthcare providers. I will also assess how the reproductive intentions of women living with HIV evolve during different life stages and determine how women define good HIV care. Results will 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 will also be relevant internationally where delivering reproductive healthcare for women living with HIV has been identified as central to supporting human rights and achieving gender equity.