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

Embracing next practices: Innovation during times of uncertainty

February 17, 2021 • By Shannon Elliot and Melisa Dickie

The emergence of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has disrupted the way we live and work. As evidence has continued to grow and evolve over the past 11 months, we have witnessed how quickly key messages and measures to reduce the transmission of the virus causing COVID-19 have changed. We have also seen how health and community services have adapted in the face of new challenges and many unknowns. This work to adapt in the face of so much disruption and uncertainty is challenging and a muscle that we are collectively using.

Indigenous responses to COVID-19 and hepatitis: A conference report back

January 28, 2021 • By Dr. Alexandra King and Sarah MacDonald

Viral hepatitis impacts Indigenous peoples around the world at much higher than average rates, harming their physical, spiritual, emotional, social and economic health. This is the result of historic and ongoing colonialism, and includes significantly worse health determinants, inadequate access to immunization and treatment, and inadequacies in the provision of culturally safe and responsive healthcare to Indigenous people. COVID-19 has further impacted Indigenous peoples, but many communities and healthcare practitioners are finding innovative ways of responding to the pandemic, while simultaneously trying to continue providing hepatitis care. Many of these responses were shared in a virtual mini-conference hosted by the...

Making OraQuick quicker: The VIRCAN 5-Minute Rule

January 20, 2021 • By David Smookler and Aaron Vanderhoff

Point-of-care (POC) tests for hepatitis C expand testing beyond clinical settings where a blood draw is not readily available. They are an important tool in the effort to eliminate hepatitis C as an endemic disease by 2030. The only Health Canada-approved POC test is the OraQuick hepatitis C antibody test, which requires a 20-minute wait before the results can be read.

What do online users want from HIV/STI risk calculators?

January 11, 2021 • By Oralia Gómez-Ramírez and Hsiu-Ju Chang

Risk calculators for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) use answers to a set of sociodemographic characteristics (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity, geographic location), health status, or behavioural questions to estimate a person’s risk for developing or acquiring HIV and STIs. They can also indicate the most appropriate action for users to take.

What topics in the CATIE Blog were top of mind in 2020?

December 21, 2020 • By Alexandra Murphy

The year 2020 will leave an indelible mark on our collective consciousness: across the world, people are confronted with the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and it seems to have consumed our lives. For many of us, not a day goes by that we don’t think about the virus, how it has altered our daily activities and what we need to do for our communities to remain healthy. Since the virus hit Canada in March 2020, service providers from across the country have mobilized to keep their clients safe and provide them the care and services they need to prevent, test...

Four questions with the Manitoba HIV/STBBI Collective Impact Network

November 30, 2020 • By Mike Payne and Laurie Ringaert

The Manitoba HIV/STBBI Collective Impact Network is an initiative to eliminate sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs) as a public health threat through collective and collaborative action. The network is hosted by Nine Circles Community Health Centre in Winnipeg. Mike Payne and Laurie Ringaert, the strategic facilitators for the Network, answered a few questions from CATIE about how the Network is addressing STBBIs in the province.