To work or not to work: combination therapies and HIV

Abstract

The authors describe the labor force experiences of people living with HIV and AIDS (PHAs) who are taking combination therapies using information from in-depth interviews conducted in 1999 and 2000 in the Windsor and Essex County region of Canada with 35 PHAs. They analyze labor force experience contextually, setting it within the contexts of personal illness experience (including disease trajectory and treatment history), workplace structure and discrimination, the labor market, and the structure of health and social service systems. Barriers to returning to or remaining in the labor force are numerous and require a specific commitment to overcome. Existing workplace and government policies and programs and labor market conditions impede labor force participation for PHAs who have recovered from serious illness and are now able and willing to work.