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Needs Assessment of HIV+ Women with Parenting Responsibilities

The purpose of this project is to conduct an assessment of the unmet needs of women with HIV who have parenting responsibilities, in order to provide information and recommendations to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health for future funding purposes. There is a concerted effort in this study to explore current access and unmet needs from the perspective of a diverse range of women with HIV, including:

  • Women who live in urban and semi-urban areas,
  • Women not living in the city of Boston
  • Women of different ages,
  • Women with and without other co-morbidities such as substance abuse or mental health disorders,
  • Women whose children do and do not have HIV, and
  • Women of different racial/ethnic backgrounds, including women who were not born in the U.S.
From this study we will be able to identify service delivery enhancements that are not already provided in the current health care delivery system in Massachusetts. The final product of this study will be a report to the grantee, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, on our findings and recommendations. It is anticipated that this report will assist the Massachusetts Department Public Health in making funding decisions and developing training programs.

We will work with the directors and key project staff of agencies in Massachusetts that provide social services or medical services to HIV positive women. Most of these agencies are part of the Masscare program for HIV positive children and families, a program administered by our funder, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Because of the nature of this project, we will use qualitative methods to conduct this study. The methods will include in-depth interviews with women who have HIV and also have parenting responsibilities. The in-depth interviews will take approximately 45 minutes and will be designed to identify where, how and how often women with HIV receive medical care, mental health and addiction treatment services, and other support services.

The interviews will be conducted in English, Spanish, French and French Creole as appropriate. Interviews will be conducted by Starr Wood, Ph.D., Project Director and Jocelyn McCree, M.A., Réginalde Gerlus, M.P.H., and Viviana Abuchar, M.S.W.