# EMPOWHer: Embracing Midlife & Menopause Positively-Offerings by Women with HIV

> **NIH NIH R25** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2024 · $163,971

## Abstract

Program Abstract
Despite remarkable achievements in HIV prevention and treatment in the United States, significant gaps in
sex-and-gender-specific health education remain for clinicians caring women with HIV (WWH), stemming their
ability to reduce morbidity and mortality, resulting in inequitable health outcomes. WWH are a highly vulnerable
aging population who experience complex physical, psychological, and social health challenges, and research
and clinical guidelines to inform the care of WWH at midlife and beyond are limited. This paucity stems
clinicians’ ability to provide comprehensive care to WWH at midlife. Midlife is an important phase in the aging
trajectory when women enter menopause, a sex and hormone-specific transition period of reproductive health.
Midlife is a critical time for general preventative health screenings and the assessment of menopause-
associated symptoms and conditions, some of which exist prematurely in WWH, including osteoporosis, heart
disease, mood and sleep disturbance, and hot flashes. Collectively, these conditions deleteriously impact the
health and quality of life of midlife WWH. In this proposal we will develop, implement, and evaluate a virtual
education program called “EMPOWHer” Embracing Midlife and Menopause Positively: Offerings by Women
with HIV, aimed to enhance clinician knowledge and confidence with providing midlife health and menopause
care to WWH. The EMPOWHer program will be co-created by WWH (including transgender women) from
diverse US geographic regions in partnership with transdisciplinary and transprofessional clinicians and
researchers to communicate sex and gender related science, and clinical and social support needs. The virtual
EMPOWHer program and related resources will be made publicly available to clinicians providing care to
WWH via the EMPOWHer website link, which will be shared with national HIV community organizations, HIV
clinics in the outpatient/inpatient area, and provider education forums. Further, insights gained from
establishing, implementing, and evaluating the EMPOWHer program will be shared to extend its reach and
impact, and inform the future development of similar programs for vulnerable populations of women.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10915212
- **Project number:** 1R25LM014348-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Sara Hurtado Bares
- **Activity code:** R25 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $163,971
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-02 → 2028-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10915212

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10915212, EMPOWHer: Embracing Midlife & Menopause Positively-Offerings by Women with HIV (1R25LM014348-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10915212. Licensed CC0.

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