The Need for Data on Women Living with HIV in Europe

Across Europe, women account for one-third of new diagnoses of HIV and yet data to guide the treatment of women living with HIV are limited, a situation largely due to under-representation of women in clinical trials. SHE is a European initiative co-led by a medical faculty of HIV physicians and a community peer-support faculty of women living with HIV, with the common goal of improving the outcomes and quality of life of women living with HIV.

In 2011, two meetings of the SHE medical faculty and invited specialists in HIV medicine were convened to discuss the situation of and clinical care for women living with HIV in Europe. At the first meeting, available data on women living with HIV in Europe were reviewed and knowledge gaps were identified and prioritized. At the second meeting, delegates agreed upon next steps required to address the highest priority challenges. The most important requirements that were identified included additional, up-to-date guidance on clinical management of women (including pregnant women) living with HIV, greater coordination of European country registries of antiretroviral therapy in pregnant women, and generation of more gender-specific clinical data. The current article introduces the five key SHE topics pertaining to the care of women living with HIV in Europe as defined by the SHE faculty and summarizes the findings of the group in terms of data gaps. The remaining articles within this supplement review current data on the five SHE topics.