HIV disclosure is more than a one-time conversation

 10 mai 2016 •  Par Erin Seatter

Decades after the emergence of HIV, disclosure remains one of the biggest challenges for women living with HIV. There’s nothing easy or straightforward about it. When thinking about whether to tell someone about their HIV-positive status, women must consider a range of possible results, for themselves as well as their families. Some women find that disclosure can help bring peace of mind, with more freedom from fear and stress. Being able to talk honestly about their health and get day-to-day support can be a relief. Very close relationships involve sharing, vulnerability and listening, and sometimes women find that disclosure leads...

Pour en savoir plus...
 

Trois points à retenir de la Conférence AFRAVIH 2016

 3 mai 2016 •  Par Gabriel Girard

L’AFRAVIH est une conférence scientifique, organisée tous les deux ans par l’Alliance francophone des acteurs de santé contre le VIH. Elle avait lieu cette année du 20 au 23 avril à Bruxelles, rassemblant plus d’un millier de participants, venus d’Europe, d’Afrique, d’Asie ou d’Amérique du Nord. L’AFRAVIH ouvre un espace de débat francophone unique pour les acteurs de la lutte contre le VIH et les hépatites virales. La conférence est l’occasion de discuter avec des intervenants très divers, issus du milieu communautaire, de la recherche ou de la santé publique. Difficile de faire le tri dans un programme aussi riche[1]…...

Pour en savoir plus...
 

Six ways to make harm reduction work in Canada’s prisons

 19 avril 2016 •  Par Emily van der Meulen and Sandra Ka Hon Chu

In Canada today, prisoners who inject drugs need to share needles, many of which have been used numerous times by other prisoners. Without access to sterile injection equipment, rates of HIV and hepatitis C virus are much higher behind bars than in the broader community. Prison-based needle and syringe programs (PNSPs) are an important way to address this public health problem, yet Canadian correctional authorities often claim they won’t work. A recent study demonstrates that PNSPs are indisputably feasible in Canada and should be implemented now. A new report, On Point: Recommendations for Prison-Based Needle and Syringe Programs in Canada,...

Pour en savoir plus...
 

Are we doing enough to help people make the best treatment and prevention decisions?

 12 avril 2016 •  Par Bob Leahy

In an era where sometimes difficult, science-based decisions are routinely required of both positive and negative individuals− think when to start treatment, or the relative benefits of PrEP vs condoms− are we doing enough to steer people away from bad decisions? First we need to acknowledge that even in a non-judgmental environment such as ours, some decisions just aren’t wise. Charlie Sheen and the allure of the goat’s milk cure proved that quite publicly. So did this Facebook commenter opining recently when to start treatment: “It’s best to wait until there is a patch, a spray or a cure.” In...

Pour en savoir plus...
 

Supervised injection in Toronto will improve the health of people who inject drugs

 5 avril 2016 •  Par Drs. Ahmed Bayoumi and Carol Strike

Over the past year, advocates or elected officials in Montreal, Ottawa, Victoria, Baltimore, New York City, Ithaca (NY), Seattle, San Francisco, Glasgow and four cities in Ireland have called  for the implementation of supervised injection services. More recently, Toronto’s Medical Officer of Health Dr. David McKeown recommended that the Board of Health start a community consultation process toward establishing supervised injection services within three existing facilities in the city. The Board voted unanimously in favour.  As the lead investigators of the TOSCA study  (the Toronto and Ottawa Supervised Consumption Assessment), we support Dr. McKeown’s proposal and look forward to the...

Pour en savoir plus...
 

We’re all mad here: It’s time to demand affordable Hep C treatment!

 22 mars 2016 •  Par Patricia Bacon

My daughter has a smartphone cover that says: “We’re all mad here”. It’s from Alice in Wonderland. I like it; and when it comes to hepatitis C treatment and pricing, it’s quite on point. In 2014, Canada and the rest of the world turned a miraculous corner – a cure for viral hepatitis C was on the market. Wonderful and amazing. Why? Well, viral hepatitis C is the only chronic viral infection that now has a cure – that is, a cure for virtually everyone, with a cure rate of 95 per cent.

Pour en savoir plus...