Table 1.
Characteristics of studies and participants
| Author/Year | Aim | Location | Methodology | N | Mean age |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buchberg et al. (2015) | Identify factors associated with postpartum retention in care among WLWH | Houston, Texas | Mixed methods | 22 | 28.2 |
| Buseh et al. (2006) | Explore African American women’s narratives of LWH to understand how they experienced and responded to HIV stigma | Urban and rural Wisconsin | Narrative | 29 | 40 |
| Caiola et al. (2017) | Explore the social determinants of health for African American LWH by examining how mothers describe their social location at the intersection of gender, race, and class inequality; HIV-related stigma; and motherhood | Semi-urban area of North Carolina | Qualitative descriptive | 18 | 41.5 |
| Carr, R. & Gramling, L. (2004) | Determine the beliefs and behaviors European American women use to maintain, improve, or enhance their health after being diagnosed with HIV/AIDS | Location not disclosed | Ethnography | 9 | 37 |
| Cuca, Y. & Rose, C. (2016) | Examine reproductive decision-making among WLWH | San Francisco, California | Grounded theory | 20 | 46 |
| Dale et al. (2018) | Sought the insights of BWLWH on how they cope with multiple adversities and their thoughts on a proposed adapted intervention | Boston, Massachusetts | Not specified | 30 | 46.5 |
| Dale, S. & Safren, S. (2018)1 | Shed light on the ways social support may be a resilience resource for BWLWH | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Davis et al. (2021) | Examine personal HIV-stigma experiences in Latina/Hispanic and African American women using PhotoVoice | Los Angeles, California | Mixed methods | 15 | 49.6 |
| Davtyan et al. (2016) | (1) Identify the factors associated with WLHIV staying in or leaving IPV relationships (or ending); (2) Understand the specific roles that HIV stigma and attachment play in WLWH’s IPV relationships; (3) Learn how medical and social service providers can support WLWH to safely end IPV | San Francisco, California | Phenomenology | 10 | 37.5 |
| Fair, C. & Brackett, B. (2008) | Understand how HIV-positive mothers and their children experience and interpret stigma and discrimination | North Carolina | Mixed methods | 8 | 41.5 |
| Fernandez et al. (2022) | Understand the role of housing instability, particularly sociocultural- and stigma-related factors, and competing demands that impact daily ART adherence and care engagement | South Florida | Phenomenology | 16 | 48.5 |
| Fletcher et al. (2016) | Explore perspectives about reproduction and motherhood and how they were impacted by healthcare provider advice | South Carolina | Phenomenology | 42 | 37.7 |
| Fletcher et al. (2020) | (1) Examine resilience strategies used to cope with stressors and challenges; (2) Assess the associations of resilience with HIV health outcomes in the context of differing levels of internalized HIV-related stigma and depressive symptoms | Birmingham, AL; Jackson, MS; Atlanta, GA; San Francisco, CA | Mixed methods | 76 | 48 |
| Grodensky et al. (2015) | (1) Investigate the important psychosocial factors impacting older women’s living and coping with HIV infection, particularly in social and spiritual relationships; (2) Explore relationships between those factors | Southeastern U.S. | Not specified | 15 | 57 |
| Hampton, C. & Gillum, T. (2020) | Understand the experiences of African American WLWH/AIDS in relation to HIV-related stigma and the ways in which these experiences have affected their self-perceptions | Northeast region of the U.S. | Phenomenology | 16 | 46 |
| James-Borga, J. & Frederickson, (2018) | To gain a deeper understanding of the experience of LWH for older African American women | Location not disclosed | Phenomenology | 10 | 58.9 |
| Kempf et al. (2010) | Explore the barriers and facilitators to clinic visit adherence among HIV-positive women residing in the southeastern United States | Rural Southeast Alabama | Qualitative descriptive | 39 | 46.1 |
| Kim et al. (2021) | Disambiguate the additive effects of mother-child relationship quality, maternal anxiety, and maternal HIV stigma on child psychosocial adjustment with WLWH and their serostatus negative children | Georgia and California | Mixed methods | 14 | 39 |
| Koch et al. (2022) | Explore coping and resilience among Black women living with HIV in the Southern United States | North Carolina | Mixed methods | 20 | 51.7 |
| Lekas et al. (2006) | (1) To analyze the experiences of felt and enacted stigma among WLWH/AIDS and examine the extent to which they have changed over time; (2) Analyze the role of race and/or ethnicity in these women’s experiences of stigmatization | New York, NY | The qualitative portion of a community engaged study | 158 | 36.5 |
| Marg et al. (2020) | Understand the challenges, coping strategies, and experiences of older WLWH | Coachella Valley, California | The qualitative portion of a community engaged study | 9 | 57 |
| McDoom et al. (2015) | Understand how older BWLWH perceived their experiences with stigma and social support and how it either facilitated or inhibited engagement in HIV care | Boston, Massachusetts | Grounded theory | 20 | 56.6 |
| McMillian-Bohler et al. (2023)1 | Explore stigma and disclosure among women living and aging with HIV in North Carolina | North Carolina | Mixed methods | 2 | 52.2 |
| Ojukwu et al. (2022) | Explore the facilitators and barriers of HIV treatment engagement among Black older women living in the Southeastern United States | South Florida | Qualitative descriptive | 17 | 57.4 |
| Peltzer et al. (2016) | To understand the everyday experiences of young African American HIV-positive women | Midwestern metropolitan area | Phenomenology | 11 | 25 |
| Peltzer et al. (2017) | Examine African American WLWH’s experiences of psychological distress and their use of coping strategies | Kansas, Missouri | Qualitative descriptive | 22 | 48 |
| Phillips et al. (2011) | Sought the meaning of WLH/AIDS in isolated, impoverished circumstances in the rural Southeast United States | South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama | Phenomenology | 39 | 39.75 |
| Qiao et al. (2021) | Explore perceptions of functional wellness for WLH from the perspectives of WLH and HCPs | South Carolina | Grounded theory | 20 | 48.9 |
| Relf et al. (2015) | (1) Test the feasibility and acceptability of a stigma intervention for WLWH in Southeastern U.S.; (2) Compare outcomes across time in women receiving the intervention; (3) Understand the effects of HIV-related stigma on psychosocial well-being in WLWH in the Deep South | North Carolina | Qualitative descriptive | 51 | 46.3 |
| Rice et al. (2018) | Answer how WLWH perceive stigma associated with their co-existing social identities | Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Brooklyn, NY, Chapel Hill, NC, Chicago, IL, and Jackson, MS | Mixed methods | 76 | 48 |
| Rice et al. (2019)1 |
Examine effects of stigma in healthcare settings on engagement in HIV care, and potential psychosocial mechanisms for these effects (i.e., adherence self-efficacy, depressive symptoms, and coping by substance use) |
-- | -- | -- | -- |
| Rice et al. (2020) | Explore stigma and discrimination (due to HIV, race/ethnicity, and other intersectional identities), concepts interrelated with quality of health care for Black and Latina WLWH | Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Brooklyn, NY, Chapel Hill, NC, Chicago, IL, and Jackson, MS | Mixed methods | 92 | Provided range |
| Robillard et al. (2017) | Document advice from HIV-positive African-American women to young African-American women, as described in their own cultural narratives | Columbia, South Carolina | Grounded theory | 25 | 44.5 |
| Sanders (2008) | Explore the meaning of pregnancy after diagnosis with HIV | Metropolitan New York | Phenomenology | 9 | 36.5 |
| Sangaramoorthy et al. (2017) | Explore HIV stigma, retention in care, and ART adherence in older BWLWH | Prince George’s County, Maryland | Grounded theory | 35 | 52 |
| Sangaramoorthy et al. (2017)1 | Examine how stigma manifests among midlife and older BWLWH | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Scott (2009) | No clear statement of aims. Study question: “What does AIDS mean?” | New Orleans, Louisiana | Qualitative descriptive and drawing | 10 | No mean age |
| Small et al. (2022) | Explore the experiences of BWLWH in healthcare settings as they relate to HIV treatment accessibility and medical mistrust | Los Angeles, California | Phenomenology and narrative | 20 | 54 |
| Subramaniam et al. (2017) | 1) Gain an understanding of how WLWH dealt with and overcame health challenges; 2) Identify factors that contribute to sustaining resilience | Midwestern metropolitan area | Grounded theory | 8 | No mean age |
| Teti et al. (2015) | Uncover and understand women’s text and visual examples of their positive life transformations with HIV | Midwest and Northeast U.S. cities | Qualitative descriptive and photovoice | 30 | No mean age |
| Tufts et al. (2010) | Systematically collect data about the self-care experiences of WLWH | Southeastern metropolitan area | Qualitative descriptive | 21 | 43.9 |
| Watkins-Hayes et al. (2012) | Explicate the effects of HIV on four social domains: social support, labor force participation, childbearing and rearing, and intimate relationship | Chicago, Illinois | Grounded theory | 30 | 36 |
| Williams et al. (2022) | Explore the meaning and perceptions of HIV-related stigma among a sample of African American WLWH in Florida | Rural Florida | Phenomenology | 13 | 51 |
1Data used for an additional publication