CATIE Blog | Page 19 | HIV and hepatitis C news and opinions

The CTN: 30 years of driving Canada’s HIV research efforts

October 2, 2020 • By Hannah Branch

Thirty years ago, a group of scientists gathered around a kitchen table on Davie Street, in the heart of Vancouver’s West End, to discuss ways to provide better care for and prolong the lives of people living with HIV who, at the time, were dying by the hundreds and extremely stigmatized. In Canada, there was not yet a network for physicians to come together and conduct HIV clinical trials. And so, the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) was born, providing a platform for Canadian researchers to generate good scientific evidence.

Valuing lived experience of substance use in our organizations: Five areas of policy and best practice

September 1, 2020 • By Murray Jose-Boerbridge

Does your organization support the meaningful engagement of individuals with lived experience of substance use? The assumption and our immediate response to this question should be a resounding yes! However, we know that this is often not the case.

New lab process in B.C. simplifying the hepatitis C care cascade

August 17, 2020 • By Prof. Mel Krajden, Dr. Agatha Jassem and Dr. Sofia Bartlett

British Columbians can now be diagnosed with hepatitis C from a single blood test, saving time and money for both patients and the health care system. This is thanks to a new testing process introduced by the Public Health Laboratory at the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), known as hepatitis C (HCV) RNA reflex testing.

Testing for HIV at home: How Ottawa is piloting self-testing

August 12, 2020 • By Alexandra Musten

To end the HIV epidemic in Canada, it is important for people who are HIV-positive to know their status and to be linked to care. To do that, we have to reach people who are not testing now and make the process easier for them.

How we can help keep people who use drugs alive during COVID-19

August 4, 2020 • By Matthew Bonn

Many creative solutions have been implemented to keep people who use drugs safe, and these solutions need to be scaled up and continued beyond the pandemic, to reach people who don’t live in areas with adequate harm reduction services.

COVID-19 in prisons: What needs to be done in Ontario

July 27, 2020 • By Claudia Medina, Eveline Allen, Chris McNab and Nicole Alexander

Immediately after Ontario declared the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) as being a public health emergency in mid-March 2020, all visits from family and friends and programming were suspended in prisons in the province.

With little information from the Ministry of the Solicitor General regarding their efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19, the Prisoners’ HIV/AIDS Support Action Network (PASAN) was flooded with phone calls from prisoners concerned about their health and the well-being of their family and friends.