Project description
Everyday life of people with HIV in Finland
People living with HIV in Europe still confront stigma, mental distress and social exclusion, and are frequently neglected in both care and policymaking. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the RE-HIV project explores how people living with HIV in Finland experience and navigate support systems. Using qualitative narrative interviews and interdisciplinary theories, it will examine how support is interpreted when it unintentionally causes emotional distress and how this affects mental health and social connectedness. The findings will be translated into recommendations for more inclusive and emotionally safe care and policy. The project will also produce academic outputs.
Objective
Despite major advances in HIV treatment, people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Europe continue to face emotional vulnerability, persistent stigma, and social marginalisation. These lived and emotional dimensions are underexplored in both research and policy, limiting the effectiveness of person-centred care and contributing to healthcare avoidance, mental distress, and reduced quality of life.
This interdisciplinary project addresses this gap by exploring how PLHIV in Finland interpret and navigate support systems—such as healthcare services, peer networks, and family—through the lens of stigma, emotional harm, and lived experience. Drawing on phenomenological-hermeneutics, Customer-Dominant Logic (CDL), and Value Co-Destruction (VCD) theory, the fellow will conduct in-depth narrative interviews with a diverse sample of PLHIV. The study will: (1) investigate how PLHIV experience and interpret support; (2) identify when and how support unintentionally causes emotional harm; (3) explore how these experiences impact mental health and social connectedness; and (4) translate insights into actionable recommendations for emotionally safe and inclusive services and policies.
The project directly supports EU goals under the EU HIV Action Plan 2024–2029, the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, and Horizon Europe’s Health Cluster by generating evidence for non-discriminatory, person-centred care. Findings will inform academic publications, co-created policy briefs, and a practical framework for inclusive support.
The fellowship includes structured training in qualitative methods, emotional trauma ethics, service design, and open science. It will strengthen the fellow’s interdisciplinary expertise and establish long-term collaborations with service researchers, NGOs, and public health actors. The project enhances Europe’s capacity for equitable care and advances scientific, societal, and policy impact, particularly in HIV care and support for vulnerable populations.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- medical and health sciences health sciences public health
- social sciences political sciences political policies civil society civil society organisations nongovernmental organizations
- medical and health sciences health sciences infectious diseases viral diseases RNA viruses HIV
- medical and health sciences health sciences health care services
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
00100 Helsinki
Finland
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.