Our research programme is closely linked to the sexual health clinic and the patients who come to the hospital, and so grows out of real life problems that need solutions. We work to understand HIV and sexual health in ethnic minority populations in the UK and translate this into improved care. The local population is very diverse and the medical questions are intertwined with the lives that people lead, which requires us to work across academic disciplines, bringing insights from biological, social and behavioural sciences.

Why Homerton?

Because the hospital is located in an area which serves a very diverse population with high rates of HIV and other sexually transmitted infections. Many of the people who use our clinical service have links to other parts of the world, providing a unique opportunity to study the relationships between culture, ethnicity, migration and medicine.

Because of the diverse geographical backgrounds of people living with HIV in east London, we are able to study different strains of the HIV virus that originate from across the world. As there are many more women with HIV using our clinic than the UK average, we are able to study the ways that HIV is influenced by gender and the special needs of women and their families. We have strong links with other research organisations, community groups and voluntary sector partners.

Why now?

Because the HIV epidemic in the UK is changing. People from African and other ethnic minority backgrounds are carrying an especially high burden of HIV infection in the UK and across the world. More people are acquiring HIV heterosexually, and so the numbers of women and families infected and affected by HIV is increasing rapidly. The nature of the epidemic and the people affected must be understood so that interventions and services can be developed.

What have we done so far?

This is just a selection of our current research work. We have completed studies on the experiences of groups of women and men from African backgrounds living with HIV in London, which has provided unique insights into the health and social care needs of the fastest growing social grouping of people with HIV in the UK. This work, carried out in collaboration with Bristol University, is ongoing.

In collaboration with City University, we have carried out a study of people with HIV attending clinics in East London, which has given information on over 1,700 patients, allowing insights into their treatment, sexual behaviours and social circumstances.

Also with City University, University College and the University of Oxford we have finished a qualitative research project with people living with HIV across the UK, out of which a website providing information about HIV has been built (www.dipex.org/hiv).

We have joined the Medical Research Council Clinical Trials Network and been part of a large international trial of HIV therapy. We are helping researchers at Queen Mary College, University of London with work designed to find a vaccine for HIV that could be used in Africa. In collaboration with City University we are currently working on a national study of the sexual health needs of ethnic minority men who have sex with men. We have also built links with pharmaceutical industry research projects.

Our work has been published in reports, on the web as well as in academic journals and at scientific conferences. Some of these reports are shown below.

What are we doing next?

CSSHH is still in its infancy. We are developing work on medical decision-making and patient experiences in relation to the new HIV drug Enfurvitide. We wish to investigate the health-seeking behaviour of people living with HIV in north-east London.

We have recently secured funding to understand the full range of complex problems that people with HIV bring to hospitals, and improve access to appropriate support and care.

Further information

email jane.anderson@homerton.nhs.uk