Help-Seeking to Cope With Experiences of Violence Among Women Living With HIV in Canada

Mona Loutfy ,Margarite Sánchez ,Melanie Lee ,Jenny Li ,Claudette Cardinal ,Valerie Nicholson ,Alexandra De Pokomandy ,Rosa Balleny ,Angela Kaida ,Kath Webster ,Rebeccah Parry ,Lu Wang ,Rebecca Gormley

doi:10.1177/10778012211019047

Abstract

Using baseline data from a community-collaborative cohort of women living with HIV in Canada, we assessed the prevalence and correlates of help-seeking among 1,057 women who reported experiencing violence in adulthood (≥16 years). After violence, 447 (42%) sought help, while 610 (58%) did not. Frequently accessed supports included health care providers (n = 313, 70%), family/friends (n = 244, 55%), and non-HIV community organizations (n = 235, 53%). All accessed supports were perceived as helpful. Independent correlates of help-seeking included reporting a previous mental health diagnosis, a history of injection drug use, experiencing childhood violence, and experiencing sexism. We discuss considerations for better supporting women who experience violence.

Highlights

Using baseline data from a community-collaborative cohort of women living with HIV in Canada, we assessed the prevalence and correlates of help-seeking among 1,057 women who reported experiencing violence in adulthood (≥16 years)
CHIWOS operationalizes the Greater Involvement of People living with HIV (GIPA) (UNAIDS, 1999, 2007) and the Meaningful Involvement of Women living with HIV (MIWA) (Loutfy et al, 2016) principles by hiring women living with HIV as Peer Research Associates (PRAs), undergoing training in quantitative research methods to collaborate with researchers, clinicians, policymakers, and community partners to guide survey design, recruitment, data collection, analysis, and knowledge translation activities (Kaida et al, 2019)
Of the 1,422 women living with HIV who completed the baseline survey of CHIWOS, women who chose not to complete the violence section (n = 105) were excluded

Summary

Introduction

Using baseline data from a community-collaborative cohort of women living with HIV in Canada, we assessed the prevalence and correlates of help-seeking among 1,057 women who reported experiencing violence in adulthood (≥16 years). Violence has significant impacts on the lives and health of women (Coker, 2007) including depression (Logie et al, 2019), impeding engagement in sustained HIV care and antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence (Carter et al, 2017; Hatcher et al, 2015; Schafer et al, 2012; Zunner et al, 2015), deterring active participation in social and health advocacy (Cho et al, 2020; Schafer et al, 2012), and a synergistic relationship between violence, poly-substance use (Carter et al, 2017), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; Cuca et al, 2019) While this relationship between violence and HIV has been acknowledged and integrated in both community and national action plans (Khan, 2011; Women’s Coalition, 2014), there is a lack of research that investigates how women cope with experiences of violence, including where women seek help, and the perceived helpfulness of such supports. Help-seeking becomes even more complex when we consider the multiple forms of violence that women living with HIV experience throughout their life course (Cho et al, 2020), including violence from health care providers (Green & Platt, 1997; Nyblade et al, 2009) and lateral violence from their wider communities (Gielen et al, 1997)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion