Economic Empowerment for Enhanced Health Equity: A Qualitative Study of Women Living with HIV in Wakiso District, Uganda

Abstract

Women living with HIV in Sub-Saharan Africa struggle for health equity while also facing the constraints of economic hardship and patriarchy. In this article, we describe the experiences of women who participated in economic empowerment groups for women living with HIV in Wakiso district, Uganda. Fifty women engaged in economic empowerment groups and ten social worker and community health worker key informants enrolled in the study. Taking a phenomenological approach, we used field notes, qualitative interviews, and focus groups with participants and key informants to describe the experiences of the women who joined the groups. We present the findings including enhanced management of HIV and increased property and business ownership due to economic empowerment group participation. We discuss the findings through an economic empowerment framework and offer implications for social work interventions and research.