Advancing Nursing Practice and Health Equity for Marginalized People Living With HIV in Canada: An Intersectionality-Informed Policy Commentary

ABSTRACT: Despite substantial advances in HIV treatment, persistent structural barriers and inequitable policy frameworks continue to disproportionately affect marginalized populations, perpetuating poor health outcomes. This article critically examines how public health policies and institutional practices fail to account for intersecting social identities, exacerbating compounded disadvantage among groups such as men who have sex with men, transgender individuals, sex workers, people who inject drugs, and racialized populations. Using Hankivsky Intersectionality-Based Policy Analysis framework, the analysis highlights how policy priorities shape access to care, distribution of resources, and systemic inequities. Recommendations include community-led approaches, rights-based policy reform, and capacity-building for culturally competent health care, emphasizing structural change over individual behavior modification. Grounded in intersectionality, this approach offers actionable strategies to advance equitable HIV care and address the systemic roots of marginalization.