Demonstrating the Feasibility of an Economic Empowerment and Health Promotion Intervention among Low-Income Women Affected by HIV in New York City

Women of color in the U.S. face systematic exclusion from the labor market, work protections, and employer-based benefits. Women's economic vulnerability increases their susceptibility to health-related issues, including HIV transmission and substance use, which are work-restricting disabilitie...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 20; no. 8; p. 5511
Main Authors:	Filippone, Prema L, Hernandez Trejo, Yajaira, Witte, Susan S
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland MDPI AG 14-04-2023 MDPI
Subjects:	Acquired immune deficiency syndrome AIDS Analysis Decision making Disease transmission Economic aspects Employment Empowerment Feasibility Feasibility Studies Female Health Promotion HIV HIV (Viruses) HIV Infections - prevention & control Human immunodeficiency virus Humans Intervention Labor Labor supply Low income groups Neighborhoods New York City Poor women Poverty Power, Psychological Problem solving Qualitative analysis Rehabilitation Risk management Risk reduction Social aspects Social interactions Social service Substance abuse Substance use New York City New York United States > US New York City New York health equity economic empowerment vocational rehabilitation employment HIV prevention
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	Women of color in the U.S. face systematic exclusion from the labor market, work protections, and employer-based benefits. Women's economic vulnerability increases their susceptibility to health-related issues, including HIV transmission and substance use, which are work-restricting disabilities, by constraining their capacity to effectively reduce risk. The Women's Economic Empowerment pilot examined the feasibility of a structural intervention, implemented at a neighborhood agency, combining both health promotion and economic empowerment components as a pathway to accessing an urban job market for low-income women with work-restricting disabilities, including living with HIV. Ten women clients from a partner agency in New York completed four health promotion sessions, six financial literacy sessions, and a concurrent opportunity to match savings; some also followed with up to 24 vocational rehabilitation sessions. Interviews captured self-reported data on health promotion and financial outcomes at pre-/post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Qualitative analysis of recorded group sessions and field notes demonstrate that women express improved HVI/STI knowledge and problem-solving strategies for risk reduction, a shared optimism for the future due to group participation, enhanced social support through relationship-building, a heightened sense of empowerment regarding financial decision making, and a desire to re-engage in the labor force. Findings suggest an empowering approach to re-engage women impacted by poverty, unemployment, and disabilities, including living with HIV, into the workforce may be implemented in a community setting.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1660-4601 1661-7827 1660-4601
DOI:	10.3390/ijerph20085511