Experiences and resultant care gaps among women with HIV in Canada: concept mapping the Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) findings.

Objectives: The community-based, longitudinal, Canadian HIV Women's Sexual and Reproductive Health Cohort Study (CHIWOS) explored the experiences of women with HIV in Canada over the past decade. CHIWOS' high-impact publications document significant gaps in the provision of healthcare to women with HIV. We used concept mapping to analyse and present a summary of CHIWOS findings on women's experiences navigating these gaps.

Piloting an online telecoaching community-based exercise intervention with adults living with HIV: protocol for a mixed-methods implementation science study.

Introduction: Our aim is to evaluate the implementation of an online telecoaching community-based exercise (CBE) intervention with the goal of reducing disability and enhancing physical activity and health among adults living with HIV.

Methods And Analysis: We will conduct a prospective longitudinal mixed-methods two-phased intervention study to pilot the implementation of an online CBE intervention with ~30 adults (≥18 years) living with HIV who consider themselves safe to participate in exercise. In the intervention phase (0-6 months), participants will take part in an online CBE intervention involving thrice weekly exercise (aerobic, resistance, balance and flexibility), with supervised biweekly personal training sessions with a fitness instructor, YMCA membership providing access to online exercise classes, wireless physical activity monitor to track physical activity and monthly online educational sessions on topics related to HIV, physical activity and health.

Cause-specific mortality among HIV-infected people in Ontario, 1995-2014: a population-based retrospective cohort study.

Background: Risk factors for cause-specific mortality have not been widely studied among people with HIV infection. Our objectives were to estimate rates of and risk factors for all-cause and cause-specific mortality from 1995 to 2014 among HIV-infected people in Ontario.

Methods: We conducted a population-based retrospective cohort study using provincial health databases of people with HIV infection who were aged 16 years or more, were residents of Ontario between 1995 and 2014, and had HIV infection according to a previously validated algorithm.

Expert consensus statement on the science of HIV in the context of criminal law.

Introduction: Globally, prosecutions for non-disclosure, exposure or transmission of HIV frequently relate to sexual activity, biting, or spitting. This includes instances in which no harm was intended, HIV transmission did not occur, and HIV transmission was extremely unlikely or not possible. This suggests prosecutions are not always guided by the best available scientific and medical evidence.

HIV-related stigma, racial discrimination, and gender discrimination: Pathways to physical and mental health-related quality of life among a national cohort of women living with HIV.

Social inequities compromise health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) among women living with HIV (WLWH). Little is known about health impacts of intersecting stigma based on HIV status, race and gender among WLWH or potential mechanisms to promote HR-QoL. We tested pathways from multiple types of stigma (HIV-related, racial, gender) to physical and mental HR-QoL utilizing baseline survey data from a national cohort of WLWH in Canada (2013-2015).

Pathways From HIV-Related Stigma to Antiretroviral Therapy Measures in the HIV Care Cascade for Women Living With HIV in Canada.

Background: Associations between HIV-related stigma and reduced antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence are widely established, yet the mechanisms accounting for this relationship are underexplored. There has been less attention to HIV-related stigma and its associations with ART initiation and current ART use. We examined pathways from HIV-related stigma to ART initiation, current ART use, and ART adherence among women living with HIV in Canada.

Engagement in and continuity of HIV care among African and Caribbean Black women living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

Engagement in care is a key component of the HIV care cascade, yet there are knowledge gaps regarding how to assess HIV care engagement. This study aimed to develop a tool to assess HIV care engagement and to assess associations between HIV care engagement and quality of life (QOL) among African, Caribbean and Black (ACB) women living with HIV (WLWH). We conducted a cross-sectional survey with ACB WLWH across Ontario, Canada.

A Structural Equation Model of Factors Contributing to Quality of Life Among African and Caribbean Women Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

African and Caribbean Black (ACB) women in Canada are disproportionately impacted by new HIV infections. ACB women's HIV vulnerability is shaped by contexts of stigma and discrimination. HIV-related stigma compromises quality of life (QOL) among women living with HIV (WLWH), yet scant research has examined concomitant effects of racial discrimination and HIV-related stigma on QOL.

A Structural Equation Model of HIV-Related Stigma, Racial Discrimination, Housing Insecurity and Wellbeing among African and Caribbean Black Women Living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

African and Caribbean Black women in Canada have new HIV infection rates 7 times higher than their white counterparts. This overrepresentation is situated in structural contexts of inequities that result in social, economic and health disparities among African and Caribbean Black populations. Economic insecurity is a distal driver of HIV vulnerability, reducing access to HIV testing, prevention and care.

HIV-related stigma in pregnancy and early postpartum of mothers living with HIV in Ontario, Canada.

HIV-related stigma is associated with many psychological challenges; however, minimal research has explored how perceived HIV-related stigma intersects with psychosocial issues that mothers living with HIV may experience including depression, perceived stress and social isolation. The present study aims to describe the correlates and predictors of HIV-related stigma in a cohort of women living with HIV (WLWH) from across Ontario, Canada during pregnancy and early postpartum. From March 2011 to December 2012, WLWH ≥ 18 years (n = 77) completed a study instrument measuring independent variables including sociodemographic characteristics, perceived stress, depression symptoms, social isolation, social support and perceived racism in the third trimester and 3, 6 and 12 months postpartum.

Emergency department use by people with HIV in Ontario: a population-based cohort study.

Background: Emergency department use may reflect poor access to primary care. Our objective was to compare rates and causes of emergency department use between adults living with and without HIV.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study involving Ontario residents living with and without HIV between Apr.

Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Viral and Bacterial Infections in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Men Who Have Sex with Men in Toronto.

Background: Hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have been associated with HIV transmission risk and disease progression among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM), but the frequency and distribution of STIs in this community in Canada has not been extensively studied.

Methods: We recruited MSM living with and without HIV from a large primary care clinic in Toronto. Participants completed a detailed socio-behavioural questionnaire using ACASI and provided blood for syphilis, HIV, HBV and HCV, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2), and human cytomegalovirus (CMV) serology, urine for chlamydia and gonorrhea, and a self-collected anal swab for human papillomavirus (HPV) molecular diagnostics.

Maternal placental syndromes among women living with HIV in Ontario: a population-based study.

Background: Maternal placental syndromes are associated with adverse fetal outcomes and maternal cardiovascular disease. However, whether HIV infection increases the risk of maternal placental syndromes is unknown. Our objective was to compare the risk of maternal placental syndromes between women living with and without HIV infection in Ontario.

"Why are you pregnant? What were you thinking?": How women navigate experiences of HIV-related stigma in medical settings during pregnancy and birth.

Having children is a growing reality for women living with HIV in Canada. It is imperative to understand and respond to women's unique experiences and psychosocial challenges during pregnancy and as mothers including HIV-related stigma. This qualitative study used a narrative methodological approach to understand women's experiences of HIV-related stigma as they navigate health services in pregnancy (n = 66) and early postpartum (n = 64).

A Randomized Trial of Time-Limited Antiretroviral Therapy in Acute/Early HIV Infection.

Background: It has been proposed that initiation of antiretroviral treatment (ART) very soon after establishment of HIV infection may be beneficial by improving host control of HIV replication and delaying disease progression.

Methods: People with documented HIV infection of less than 12 months' duration in Baltimore MD and seven Canadian sites were randomized to either a) observation and deferred ART, or b) immediate treatment with ART for 12 months. All subjects not receiving ART were followed quarterly and permanent ART was initiated according to contemporaneous treatment guidelines.

Late initiation of combination antiretroviral therapy in Canada: a call for a national public health strategy to improve engagement in HIV care.

Introduction: Combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) significantly decreases morbidity, mortality and HIV transmission. We aimed to characterize the timing of ART initiation based on CD4 cell count from 2000 to 2012 and identify factors associated with late initiation of treatment.

Methods: Participants from the Canadian Observational Cohort (CANOC), a multi-site cohort of HIV-positive adults initiating ART naively after 1 January 2000, in three Canadian provinces (British Columbia, Ontario and Québec) were included.

Comparison of coping strategies and supports between aboriginal and non-aboriginal people living with HIV in Ontario.

Complex historical and cultural factors have contributed to the HIV epidemic among Aboriginal populations in Canada. This study assesses social supports, adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms, stress, and mastery of Canadian-born Aboriginal and Canadian-born Caucasian people living with HIV in Ontario and posits that coping and social support are important micro- and meso-level factors associated with the epidemic. This cross-sectional analysis included questionnaire data collected from 2007 to 2011 at HIV clinics in Toronto.

Life expectancy of HIV-positive individuals on combination antiretroviral therapy in Canada.

Background: We sought to evaluate life expectancy and mortality of HIV-positive individuals initiating combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) across Canada, and to consider the potential error introduced by participant loss to follow-up (LTFU).

Methods: Our study used data from the Canadian Observational Cohort (CANOC) collaboration, including HIV-positive individuals aged ≥18 years who initiated ART on or after January 1, 2000. The CANOC collaboration collates data from eight sites in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.

Retrospective reports of developmental stressors, syndemics, and their association with sexual risk outcomes among gay men.

Gay and bisexual men (GBM) continue to have a disproportionately higher HIV incidence than any other group in Canada and the United States. This study examined how multiple co-occurring psychosocial problems, also known as a syndemic, contribute to high-risk sexual behavior among GBM. It also examined the impact of early life adversity on high-risk sexual behavior as mediated by syndemic severity.

Adequacy of prenatal care among women living with human immunodeficiency virus: a population-based study.

Background: Prenatal care reduces perinatal morbidity. However, there are no population-based studies examining the adequacy of prenatal care among women living with HIV. Accordingly, we compared the prevalence of adequate prenatal care among women living with and without HIV infection in Ontario, Canada.

Adverse Neonatal Outcomes Among Women Living With HIV: A Population-Based Study.

Background: There have been few population-based studies describing the risk of adverse neonatal outcomes among women living with HIV in Canada. Accordingly, we compared the risk of preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight (LBW) and small for gestational age births among Ontario women aged 18 to 49 years living with and without HIV infection.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study using Ontario health administrative data.

Recruitment of HIV-Positive Women in Research: Discussing Barriers, Facilitators, and Research Personnel's Knowledge.

Background: Women have historically been under-represented in HIV research, partly due to ineffective recruitment strategies.

Objective: To improve the existing understanding of recruitment for HIV-positive women based on a province-wide cross-sectional study.

Methods: A survey was emailed to all site coordinators who recruited participants in a study involving 490 HIV-positive women living in Ontario, Canada.

Correlates of a lifetime history of sexually transmitted infections among women who have sex with women in Toronto, Canada: results from a cross-sectional internet-based survey.

Objectives: Structural drivers of sexually transmitted infections (STI) among women who have sex with women (WSW) have been underexplored. The study objective was to understand sociodemographic, individual, structural, and sexual health factors associated with a lifetime history of STI among WSW.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2012 to engage a peer-driven recruitment sample of WSW in Toronto, Canada.