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

Author

Listed:
  • Prema L. Filippone

    (Silver School of Social Work, New York University, New York, NY 10012, USA)

  • Yajaira Hernandez Trejo

    (School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA)

  • Susan S. Witte

    (School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA)

Abstract

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Prema L. Filippone & Yajaira Hernandez Trejo & Susan S. Witte, 2023. "Demonstrating the Feasibility of an Economic Empowerment and Health Promotion Intervention among Low-Income Women Affected by HIV in New York City," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(8), pages 1-14, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:8:p:5511-:d:1123425
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Witte, S.S. & Aira, T. & Tsai, L.C. & Riedel, M. & Offringa, R. & Chang, M. & El-Bassel, N. & Ssewamala, F., 2015. "Efficacy of a savings-led microfinance intervention to reduce sexual risk for HIV among women engaged in sex work: A randomized clinical trial," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 105(3), pages 95-102.
    2. Amon Emeka, 2018. "Where Race Matters Most: Measuring the Strength of Association Between Race and Unemployment Across the 50 United States," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 136(2), pages 557-573, April.
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