Researchers from the Center for Innovation for Social Work and Health (CISWH) at BUSSW conducted a new study exploring the challenges people with HIV (PWH) face in obtaining gainful employment. The study’s goal is to better understand and address what limits PWH from achieving employment and housing and to develop interventions that can improve those outcomes.
Excerpt from “CISWH Study Shows Anticipation of Stigma Can Limit Employment for Persons with HIV“(CISWH News):
Employment is a significant social determinant of health, particularly important for the financial and mental well-being of persons with HIV (PWH). Researchers at the Center for Innovation in Social Work & Health (CISWH), Serena Rajabiun (co-PI, now at UMass Lowell) and Jessica Flaherty (project director), and co-authors, examined the barriers to employment for those with HIV. Due to effective medical treatments, PWH are expected to live 43.1 years longer than individuals with HIV just 20 years ago. This increased life expectancy gives PWH the opportunity to retain or gain employment and live a life similar to those not infected with HIV. The study’s goal, recently published in the PLOS ONE journal, is to better understand and address what limits PWH from achieving employment and housing and to develop interventions that can improve those outcomes.
Professor Christina Lee, CISWH Research Core director, emphasizes that “As part of CISWH’s research initiative to focus on health equity among vulnerable groups, this study is a perfect illustration of how, by addressing structural barriers like unemployment among marginalized populations, we can improve outcomes.”
Currently, there are approximately 1.2 million individuals with HIV in the United States, with 45–65% unemployed and 10–20% homeless. In 2011, among PWH, the majority were living at or below the federal poverty level, leaving this disadvantaged group with limited resources.