ASHM Report Back
Clinical posts from members and guests of the Australasian Society for HIV, Viral Hepatitis and Sexual Health Medicine (ASHM) from various international medical and scientific conferences on HIV, AIDS, viral hepatitis, and sexual health.
Poster review:women-empowering and barriers to testing
I chose to review these two posters, as they both concern women, the first is about empowering through employment, the second is identifying the barriers to accessing services.
SEW Tanzania: Showcasing the Resilience of HIV+ Women in Tanzania. Lead author: Lees, N.
S.E.W. stands for Supporting Empowering Women, which is a social enterprise in Tanzania, which provides employment to HIV positive women.
The participants make conference bags from recycled wheat sacks and are provided with fair prices for their products. This shows them to be resilient, industrious and capable. By providing this work, S.E.W. seeks to end the stigma associated with HIV.
Examining the benefits to women living with HIV of a community organisation led research project. Lead author: Boughey, A.
Positive Women Victoria’s membership is increasingly becoming women born in Africa and the Western Pacific. They tend to be diagnosed later and often during their reproductive years.
The needs and preferences of this growing, culturally diverse population have not been effectively identified. With further research needed to identify the barriers to accessing services for the group.