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HIV futures seven

Making positive lives count

Out now!

HIV Futures seven is the seventh national survey of Australian People Living with HIV (PLHIV) conducted by the Living with HIV program at the Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society, La Trobe University. 

HIV Futures is an anonymous survey of PLHIV. It asks people about a range of issues including their health, treatments, work and financial situation. HIV Futures surveys have been conducted every two to three years since 1997, attracting responses from around 1000 PLHIV each time. 

The HIV Futures survey has been developed in consultation with a variety of community groups and it is officially supported by the National Association of People Living with HIV/AIDS (NAPWA), the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO) and the Australasian Society of HIV Medicine (ASHM).

HIV Futures provides information to PLHIV, community organisations, service providers, doctors and government about the actual experience of living with HIV and the current needs of PLHIV.

HIV Futures seven will be run between October 2011 and 15 th January 2012. Hardcopy survey booklets will be sent out to HIV/AIDS organisations across the country. These can be returned anonymously and free of charge via the envelope attached to the survey booklet.

The survey can also be filled out online by going to:

www.hivfutures.org.au

For more information, or to request a copy of the survey booklet, contact us:

Ph: (freecall) 1800 064 398 or

Email: hivfutures@latrobe.edu.au

Make sure your experience counts. Let us know what living with HIV is like for you. Be part of HIV Futures seven.

 

 

HIV futures six

Report Available Now

HIV futures six full report is now available HERE!

HIV futures six women's report is now available HERE!

Printed copies of the full report are available from HIV health services and community organisations, and will be included in mail outs.

A preliminary summary is available for download HERE

You can email us to ensure you receive a copy of the report at hivfutures@latrobe.edu.au

 

 

HIV futures New Zealand 2

Mate aaraikore a muri ake nei (Tuarua)

HIV Futures NZ2: Mate aaraikore a muri ake nei (Tuarua) data collection has finished

You can email us to ensure you receive a copy of the report: hivfutures@latrobe.edu.au

Download a copy here of:

The report and summaries are also available online from the NZAF site: www.nzaf.org.nz

 

HIV futures five

Report out now

HIV Futures Five: Life as we know it is out and available

Copies are available from your local HIV/AIDS organisation

You can download a copy of the report from the link above

You can email us to receive a printed copy of the report: hivfutures@latrobe.edu.au

 

The Living with HIV Program

The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) conducts a national program of social research focusing on the lived experience of HIV. This is in part funded by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aging and specifically aims to analyse the experience of Australian PLWHA in relation to both their health and social environment and to broaden understandings of the issues affecting Australian PLWHA. Core projects in this research program are the HIV Futures Surveys and the HIV Futures Qualitative Studies. In addition, there is a range of research projects addressing specific issues at the levels of individual experience, social and collective experiences, organisational and structural issues and policy issues.

The research program critically examines the experiences of PLWHA, at the levels of individual experience, social and community structures, broad socio-political structures and social meaning; encourages input from affected communities in the focus, design, interpretation and application of research conducted through the program; and disseminates the findings of research to the affected communities, community organisations, professional bodies, academic audiences, and government agencies in forms that reflect their particular needs. This includes the production of community reports, academic publications and conference presentations, briefing papers, editorial material and resources for use by affected communities.

Principles of Research

Our social research with HIV positive populations rests on five key components:

• Partnerships at the local level: including academic, community, professional and clinical

• Involvement of PLWHA in research design, conduct and dissemination

• Skills development and sharing as key outcomes of the research process

• A reflexive and responsive research focus

• A collective and shared responsibility to enhance the well being of PLWHA.

 

HIV Futures

The HIV Futures Surveys are self completed, mail-back, anonymous, national, non-clinical, omnibus, surveys conducted every 2 years. The first survey was conducted in 1997 with a sample of 925 people living with HIV/AIDS. Subsequent surveys were conducted in Australia in 1999 (921 respondents), 2001 (894 respondents), and 2003 (1059 respondents). HIV Futures New Zealand was conducted in 2001 with a sample size of 226 (25% of the PLWHA population of New Zealand). The survey had six major content areas: health and treatments, sex and relationships, accommodation, employment, community involvement and finances.

The PLWHA research at ARCSHS, and HIV Futures in particular, aims to reflect the context (socio-economic, political, pharmaceutical, legislative, and geographic) of living with HIV. Extensive community and professional consultation in conjunction with the active participation of affected communities, particularly PLWHA, has ensured that the research priorities, conduct and dissemination have been grounded in the day to day experience of PLWHA and the organisations that serve them.

The social research program has proved a valuable tool for examining service provision modalities at all levels of community and government. Research such as HIV Futures has provided the opportunity for community organisations, service providers, professionals and policy makers to reflect on the complexity of the experiences of PLWHA and to tailor their practices to meet current and emerging needs.

This work complements behavioural surveillance, epidemiology, analysis of treatment practices, care and support, and specific social and clinical interventions. The PLWHA social research findings have been critical in contextualising behavioural, epidemiological and clinical data.

The HIV Futures studies have provided policy makers and service providers with reliable and detailed information in the following five domains:

• the socio-economic situation of PLWHA (eg housing, finances, employment)

• social and community involvement (eg organisational access, disclosure)

• health status and maintenance (clinical history, treatments, health service access)

• emotional well-being (e.g. mental health, un-met needs, social support)

• understandings of the socio-cultural dimensions of HIV (eg discrimination, attitudes to treatment, prevention issues).

In addition, the combination of these domains has offered particular insights into the role of social and structural characteristics in the health and well being of PLWHA.

The size and sampling profile of HIV Futures has meant that comparisons can be made between different sub-population of PLWHA. This has resulted, for example in reports on HIV positive women, heterosexual men, and those co-infected with hepatitis C. There have also been reports for individual states. On the academic side findings from the study have been presented at numerous conferences and in journal articles covering such topics as treatment breaks, aging and HIV, parenting, anti-viral uptake, use of complementary therapies, experiences of rural PLWHA, social determinates of health and the experiences of HIV community.

Download pdf version of the hiv futures 6 survey

 

THE LIVING WITH HIV PROGRAM: Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health & Society
Level 1, 215 Franklin St, Melbourne VIC 3000
(e) hivfutures@latrobe.edu.au (t) +61 3 9285 5382 (f) +61 3 9285 5220

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