The Department of Equality and Feminisms funds the Dona+ project, led by CEEISCAT-IGTP, to improve healthcare for women living with HIV

Tuesday, 9 September 2025 - Projects, Research

The Department of Equality and Feminisms of the Government of Catalonia has granted funding to a research project addressing gender inequalities and the health of women in vulnerable situations. The study is led by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and HIV/AIDS of Catalonia (CEEISCAT), a research group of the Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP).

Dona+ Study

Women living with HIV: gaps and unmet needs in HIV clinical care in Spain (Dona+)

Although women account for 15% of new HIV diagnoses in Spain, they remain underrepresented in clinical research. The Dona+ project will analyse the clinical, social, and structural vulnerabilities of cis and trans women living with HIV in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands, with the aim of improving their care and reducing inequalities.

The study adopts a gender and intersectional perspective and its main goal is to describe these vulnerabilities and the unmet needs in HIV care. Specific objectives include: describing the clinical outcomes and sociodemographic and psychosocial characteristics of women living with HIV; identifying unmet needs in key areas such as sexual and reproductive health and mental health; detecting gender-related factors influencing clinical care post-diagnosis; and estimating the HIV care cascade in Catalonia, highlighting areas for improvement and intervention.

The research will be carried out using data from women over 16 years of age enrolled in the PISCIS cohort between 1998 and 2023 - a project that integrates information from more than 28,000 patients across 15 hospitals in Catalonia and 4 in the Balearic Islands - complemented with centralised data from the Catalan Health Service (PADRIS). In addition, surveys and qualitative interviews will capture women's own experiences and give voice to their needs.

Commitment to transformative research

This project places gender and intersectionality at the core, responding to an urgent need: advancing towards more inclusive and equitable healthcare that addresses structural inequalities and guarantees sexual and reproductive health rights for all women.

"This study represents an opportunity to transform HIV and sexually transmitted infection care through a feminist and rights-based approach, with a direct impact both on health policies and on women's lives," highlights Dr Cristina Agustí, epidemiologist at CEEISCAT-IGTP and principal investigator of the Dona+ project.