Organization: Washington University in St. Louis
Region: USA and Canada
Nationality: Canada
Country: United States
Interests & expertise: Quality of care
Profession or occupation: Researcher
What inspires you to work in the HIV field?
I was inspired to join the field because of my desire to understand and intervene in issues of stigmatization and social structural marginalization long associated with HIV and communities disproportionately impacted by the epidemic. I am continually inspired to remain in the field by the activism, passion and ingenuity of the people I get to work alongside in the global HIV response.
What are your goals as an IAS change maker?
As an IAS change maker, my goal is to advance global health justice by improving the quality and accessibility of HIV services. My research as a PhD student in public health and implementation science focuses on reducing structural barriers that limit engagement with HIV prevention and treatment services specifically among underserved populations in central, eastern, southern and western Africa.
Through implementation science and community-engaged participatory research, I work to identify modifiable socio-structural and organizational factors that hinder access to HIV care and to develop implementation strategies that leverage community strengths to overcome them. Such factors include affordability of care, stigma, homophobia and other forms of social exclusion. Ultimately, my goal is to disrupt the social, political and economic structures that drive HIV disparities and thus promote more just and equitable systems of care.