“I’ve found my voice. I’ve found a sisterhood”: Qualitative evaluation of a web-based support group for women with HIV

Abstract

This article presents a qualitative evaluation of a professionally moderated, psychoeducational, web-based support group for women with HIV, entitled Shared Journey. Nine in-depth interviews and 107 forum posts underwent thematic analysis. We asked participants to evaluate (1) the populations they felt would benefit from Shared Journey, (2) the unique features of the intervention, and (3) the outcomes they experienced from participating. Shared Journey may serve to support and translate knowledge to this population – especially those who are newly diagnosed, newcomers, and working for AIDS Service Organizations. Future implementations may empower participants and provide a space for safe disclosure rehearsal.

Keywords:

• HIV/AIDS services
• program evaluation
• psychoeducation
• women’s health
• web-based intervention

Acknowledgments

We would like to express our appreciation to the women who participated in this group and shared their stories. We also wish to thank the HIV organizations and specialists who assisted us with outreach for helping to make this study possible and for the work that they do in this community.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no real or perceived vested interests related to this article that could be construed as a conflict of interest.