Research Snapshots
Our research in an easy-to-read and share form.
Envisioning Healthcare that Prioritizes Trans Women and Gender Diverse People
Funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR): CDP170108
The Women-Centred HIV Care (WCHC) Model is based on data from 1,422 women living with HIV in Canada. Even though trans women were included in the study, we wondered if trans women and trans feminine people were being fully supported under the WCHC Model's framework or if it needed to be changed to better fit their specific needs. We asked: "How can the WCHC Model help trans women with HIV? What changes might make it more usable or supportive for trans women and gender diverse people?" Seventeen trans women and gender diverse people participated in interviews to help us understand how the WCHC Model might help support trans women and their healthcare wants and needs.
Social Determinants of Health: a trans-cultural perspective
Funded by CIHR
A large body of research focuses on trans women’s access to HIV prevention, yet little research focuses on their experiences of health and well-being post-diagnosis. Social factors have key implications on health:
• Simply administering medical treatment is often insufficient to improve health
• Poverty, gender inequity, and a multitude of other factors have a major impact on women’s vulnerability to health problems and (in)ability to access care and support
• Trans women have a much higher risk of HIV due to social and structural issues.
This analysis draws on data from a longitudinal, community-based research project called the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS). The study includes 1422 individuals living with HIV living in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia, including 52 trans women. We aimed to compare cis and trans women in CHIWOS across sociodemographic factors (age, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, education), key social determinants of health (income, employment, housing and food security, social exclusion, and access to HIV-related care), and health and mental health outcomes (CD4 count, viral load, depressive and post-traumatic stress symptoms).
Mental Health and Psychological Wellbeing of Trans Women Living with HIV
Funded by CIHR.
Mental health is an important aspect of overall wellbeing, and is also closely linked to other aspects of health and wellbeing (e.g. sexual health, physical health, etc.). Stigma around mental health still remains a reality in many communities and when combined with the layers of stigma around gender, as well as HIV status, trans women living with HIV face a unique set of challenges when navigating their life journey. To characterize the prevalence of mental health conditions among trans women living with HIV in CHIWOS; to assess for associations between individual, social, clinical and structural factors and mental health outcomes for this population.