Demonstrating the Feasibility of an Economic Empowerment and Health Promotion Intervention among Low-Income Women Affected by HIV in New York City

Women of color in the U.S. face systematic exclusion from the labor market, work protections, and employer-based benefits. Women’s economic vulnerability increases their susceptibility to health-related issues, including HIV transmission and substance use, which are work-restricting disabilities, by constraining their capacity to effectively reduce risk. The Women’s Economic Empowerment pilot examined the feasibility of a structural intervention, implemented at a neighborhood agency, combining both health promotion and economic empowerment components as a pathway to accessing an urban job market for low-income women with work-restricting disabilities, including living with HIV. Ten women clients from a partner agency in New York completed four health promotion sessions, six financial literacy sessions, and a concurrent opportunity to match savings; some also followed with up to 24 vocational rehabilitation sessions. Interviews captured self-reported data on health promotion and financial outcomes at pre-/post-intervention and 3-month follow-up. Qualitative analysis of recorded group sessions and field notes demonstrate that women express improved HVI/STI knowledge and problem-solving strategies for risk reduction, a shared optimism for the future due to group participation, enhanced social support through relationship-building, a heightened sense of empowerment regarding financial decision making, and a desire to re-engage in the labor force. Findings suggest an empowering approach to re-engage women impacted by poverty, unemployment, and disabilities, including living with HIV, into the workforce may be implemented in a community setting.