Improving the provision of reproductive and sexual health services to women living with and affected by HIV in the Midwest: A community-academic partnership
Abortion, Contraception
Awarded 2016
Interdisciplinary Innovation (Phase 1) Grants
Sadia Haider, MD, MPH
University of Illinois, Chicago
$24,991

In recognition of the barriers to optimal reproductive and sexual health for women affected by HIV, The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) recently launched the Midwest HIV Prevention and Pregnancy Planning Initiative which aims to reduce HIV infections and increase pregnancy planning among women in high HIV prevalence communities in the Midwest by increasing the capacity of medical providers to meet the reproductive and sexual health needs of HIV+ women and HIV-vulnerable women. The proposed project will establish a community-academic partnership between University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) School of Public Health, UIC School of Medicine and AFC during the planning period. Given these institutions’ longstanding commitment to HIV prevention, sexual health, human rights, and improving women’s reproductive health, our interdisciplinary investigative team proposes to utilize a community-engaged approach to achieve the following: Specific Aim 1: Establish two advisory groups, which will inform and guide a reproductive and sexual health research agenda to address the needs of women living with and affected by HIV. Specific Aim 2: Utilize quantitative findings from the ongoing AFC health care provider survey to inform future strategies to address the reproductive and sexual health needs of women affected by HIV in the Midwest. Combined, our interdisciplinary investigative team has the expertise to develop feasible and sustainable strategies to optimize the reproductive and sexual well-being of women affected by HIV.