What healthy aging means to me: a community-collaborative knowledge mobilization initiative with, by, and for, women living with HIV.

UBC researchers, Ribbon Community, and local service organizations, such as Central Interior Native Health Society, will harness our collective experiences in supporting WLWH to host five women-centred knowledge mobilization (KM) events. Ribbon Community has supported the HIV community since 1983, with services including peer-to-peer programming, case management, and grocery support. Researchers at UBC are investigating healthy aging in women living with HIV, from cell-to-society, in the community-based British Columbia CARMA-CHIWOS Collaboration (BCC3) study. We aim to host a series of “mini-retreats” – or full-day KM events that will be held in natural settings (e.g. Loon Lake). Here, WLWH and organizers will share nourishing food and discuss research findings through interactive activities surrounding the theme “What is healthy aging.” Events will take place in the five geographical regions visited by the research team during prior study enrollment. KM topics will focus on women’s sexual and reproductive health as they age, with specific topics chosen in consultation with WLWH. Participants will leave each event with a lay-language KM summary and an appreciation bag of health-promoting items.