GIPA HOMEFIRE

The GIPA Homefire community-based research project was imagined and championed by the Indigenous Peoples living with HIV (IPHA) Caucus at CAAN.

The GIPA Homefire research project is led by a strong leadership team made up of IPHAs and their allies. Together, we plan to create a culture-based model of the GIPA Principles (Greater Involvement of People living with HIV/AIDS) and how to operationalize them through diverse First Nations, Inuit and Métis worldviews.

To achieve our goals, the research team has used several data collection methods, including:

  • A survey answered by 117 IPHA leaders in HIV to find out about their understanding of leadership and wellness;
  • 20 in-depth interviews with survey respondents who indicated their interest to talk with us to explore the heart of their stories;
  • A critical analysis of policies developed by AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs) at the local, national, and international levels in order to understand how GIPA is being implemented—or not—at the grass roots level; and
  • Interviews with organizational representatives from ASOs to discuss policies in place for the implementation of GIPA in their organization.

Participatory data analysis of our surveys, interviews and critical analysis will glean answers to our key questions:

  1. How does leadership impact IPHA health and wellbeing?
  2. What is the uptake of GIPA with Indigenous programs and services in response to HIV?
  3. What wise practices can be identified to address the uptake of our culture-based GIPA policy to support and sustain IPHA health and prevent new infections?

Based on our findings, we will share and start to evaluate KTE (knowledge Transfer and Exchange) products and processes to promote the uptake of the research findings and support action to enhance the implementation of GIPA with IPHAs, organizational and Indigenous community stakeholders.

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