The Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual and R
eproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) has launched their official website at www.chiwos.ca! Visit the website and find out more about the study, view a short video on the project, and access news about the project, papers and presentations, and learn more about their team.
Women who are HIV-positive have unique care needs, but frequently face inattention to their specific social circumstances and health needs, particularly those of a sexual, reproductive and mental health nature, and may experience diverse challenges in accessing care. While there is limited literature and research about how women use HIV/AIDS health and social services, these factors indicate that many women could benefit from women-specific services that would more fully address their unique needs in a supportive, inclusive, and accessible manner.
This project was developed to address these issues, and will roll out in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. CHIWOS is committed to creating new knowledge that will be used to support women living with HIV in Canada to achieve optimal health and well-being through meaningfully involving them in every stage of the research process by providing a safe, innovative, and transformational research environment.
In terms of community-based research, CHIWOS is an excellent example of a project that has engaged women living with HIV and community organizations in the research process. They have also developed several resources that may be useful to other projects — such as their translation guidelines and social media and website policy — which are shared here on their new website.