Needs and Supports in Transitional Housing for People Living with HIV/AIDS in Ontario, Canada

ABSTRACT

There is a paucity of research on transitional housing for people living with HIV/AIDS (PHA) and even less so within the Canadian context. The present work addresses that gap and reports on the results from the Transitional Housing Study, a province wide community-based research collaboration involving PHA, service providers, and university researchers in Ontario Canada. This article answers the following research questions: What supports do residents in transitional housing for PHA access and what needs do these supports address? Developing from a thematic analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews with 25 residents in one of three transitional housing agencies in Ontario for PHA, the findings reveal that participants benefited from four key supports while in transitional housing: the provision of a safe environment, co-coordination and management of HIV (and other) drug therapies, assistance with appointments, and referrals to health and social services. Until more resources are available to increase availability of transitional housing for PHA, the nonprofit housing sector must fill the gap that exists by offering the types of supports identified in this study in order to address the needs of PHA. Future research may link these supports efficiently with concrete health improvements and permanent housing stability among PHA.

KEYWORDS:

• Community-based research
• HIV/AIDS
• qualitative research
• supports and services
• transitional housing

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the four peer research associates who conducted all interviews. We thank the staff of the participating housing agencies that provided time and resources that ensured the smooth operation of the study. Finally, and most of all, we express our gratitude to the residents who took the time to share their experiences with us.

Funding

We acknowledge the financial assistance provided by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Notes

¹ We would like to thank an anonymous reviewer for bringing this to our attention.