The MWCCS integrates individuals living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and at risk for HIV from two longstanding longitudinal studies: the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS), and the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). The MACS initially began in 1984 as a study of HIV-1 infection among gay and bisexual men in the United States, enrolling around 7,300 participants. The WIHS began in 1993 investigating the progression of HIV disease in women, enrolling around 5,000 participants. Both studies involved re-assessment every 6 months. MWCCS was launched in 2019 with around 4,100 active participants from the two cohort studies invited to enrol, alongside a target of recruiting an additional 1,500 new participants. Current MWCCS study sites are located across the USA in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC.

Recruitment is ongoing