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.
National Evaluation and Program Support Center to conduct a multi-site evaluation of outreach activities designed to engage and retain individuals with HIV in medical care. Funded by Health Resources and Services Administration
A national evaluation of peer education training programs for people living with HIV.
A National Center working to advance the Healthy People 2010 objective that all children with special health care needs have access to adequate health insurance and financing for their care.
A cross-disciplinary training curriculum in HIV and substance abuse, designed for health care providers, support service providers and substance abuse treatment providers.