Cohort Profile: Longitudinal Investigations into Supportive and Ancillary health services.

ABSTRACT

The Longitudinal Investigations into Supportive and Ancillary health services (LISA) study is a cohort of people living with HIV/AIDS who have ever accessed anti-retroviral therapy (ART) in British Columbia, Canada. The LISA study was developed to better understand the outcomes of people living with HIV with respect to supportive services use, socio-demographic factors and quality of life. Between July 2007 and January 2010, 1000 participants completed an interviewer-administered questionnaire that included questions concerning medical history, substance use, social and medical support services, food and housing security and other social determinants of health characteristics. Of the 1000 participants, 917 were successfully linked to longitudinal clinical data through the provincial Drug Treatment Program. Within the LISA cohort, 27% of the participants are female, the median age is 39 years and 32% identify as Aboriginal. Knowledge translation activities for LISA include the creation of plain language summaries, internet resources and arts-based engagement activities such as Photovoice.