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The purpose of this paper is to summarize 15 years of intervention science in combination HIV prevention and microfinance among women engaged in sex work (WESW) in Central Asia, identifying gaps in our understanding and recommendations for future studies. We begin by describing the emergence of HIV/STI risk among WESW in the Central Asia region, specifically Mongolia and Kazakhstan, and bridge to the formative stages of our methodology as well as completed prevention intervention studies. We describe the development of combining HIV prevention with asset-based microfinance interventions, lessons learned, and contributions these studies make to HIV prevention, intervention science, and practice. We end by recommending next steps to move prevention science forward in this area and among this key population, which continues to be underserved in HIV prevention science worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past decade, Kazakhstan has experienced increased cases of HIV, especially among women who engage in sex work and use drugs. Research has examined the efficacy of structural interventions to reduce HIV risk; however, few studies have examined the experiences of women participating in these interventions. This study aimed to understand the perceived impact that HIV risk reduction and savings-led microfinance components of the Nova study had on women's sexual and drug risk behaviors as well as their capacity for reducing income from sex work and finding alternative sources of income over time. The Nova study is a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted from 2013 to 2018 in Kazakhstan. It examines the efficacy of a combination of HIV risk reduction and microfinance among women who engage in sex work and women who use drugs. Data were drawn from the qualitative component of this study; 56 interviews with 19 participants were conducted. Template analysis and a qualitative trajectory approach were used to understand women's perceptions of the impact that intervention had over time. Findings indicated that women perceived increased knowledge and skills related to condom use, safe sex practice, and drug use reduction. Women who received the microfinance component described perceived gains on budget management, capacity to plan for their future, and motivation to find alternative sources of income. Giving women the opportunity to express narrative experiences over time regarding the impact of this structural intervention may inform needed cultural adaptations of the intervention components and nuances of the environment in which the intervention is offered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexico's violence related to organized crime activity has grown to epidemic levels in the last 12 years. We interviewed 22 Mexican health care providers from five states to examine how violence impacts health care services and health. We transcribed and analyzed semi-structured interviews using framework analysis. Our findings describe the ways in which community violence in Mexico permeates health care services, impacting health care providers, and the health of patients. We developed a model to reflect our main themes that illustrate how violence permeates health care services over geographic space and time. We identified three thematic categories: (a) the impact of violence on health care facilities and service provision, (b) the impact of violence on providers, and (c) the impact of violence on the health of the community. Our model articulates a dynamic process of the spread and permeation of violence. Prior literature focuses on the impact of violence as an occupational hazard and the effect of war or civil conflict on health care services. We extend this literature by documenting the impacts of widespread violence on Mexican health care services and providers. We discuss how violence impacts services, providers, and health in a country that is not officially at war. We compare our findings to previous literature on occupational violence in health professions and the impacts on health services in official war zones. Finally, we highlight the implications for health care practice and policy. We suggest that violence should be considered throughout the care continuum in Mexico and make the case for violence as a structural contributor to health and health disparities in Mexico. We suggest additional research on this under-investigated topic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors offer suggestions about how researchers can further preserve contributions from peers' lived experiences while maintaining intervention fidelity. There is said to be tension between peers' emphasis on processes of care. The tension between lay versus evidence-based intervention language is discussed. The authors said future studies should focus on forming training curricula to examine how different training approaches can work best to preserve the peers' unique strengths.