Interdisciplinary, Community, and Peer Leadership Approach to Addressing Housing Among People Living With HIV in the Rural South

Housing remains the greatest unmet need for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWH). Homelessness and unstable or marginal housing strongly predict poor health outcomes among PLWH, and they complicate the medical management of HIV. The majority of extant research has focused on urban areas; very few studies target areas in the rural South. Rural areas face distinct issues related to housing including a lack of structured housing programs. Further, the communal nature of life within the rural South presents an additional burden for PLWH as the disease is still highly stigmatized in these areas. The goal of this article is to: (a) describe issues related to housing needs among PLWH in the rural South and the effect of these factors on health outcomes; (b) highlight a community-based participatory research project, known as Project CHAP (Case management, Housing, Advocacy and Policy) and evaluate the impact of housing and case management on health outcomes among rural residents living with HIV in West Alabama; and (c) summarize the impact for future research or policy work in the area of housing among PLWH in the rural South. The findings have implications for PLWH and for those who provide care or services to this population.