Tag: HIV testing | Page 3

Bring testing to the people

April 2, 2019 • By Amanda Giacomazzo

Editor’s note, January 2022: Some of the approaches and technologies highlighted here are still only available in some regions of Canada. Additionally, HIV self-testing/home-based testing has now been approved for use in Canada. Canada has signed on to global targets to eliminate HIV and hepatitis C as public health threats by 2030. While ambitious, these targets are now a realistic possibility thanks to the effectiveness of modern medications. HIV treatment can suppress the virus so successfully that HIV-positive Canadians who start treatment early can have life expectancies similar to their HIV-negative peers. This also prevents the transmission of HIV to...

Ensemble, faire de Montréal une ville sans sida

December 4, 2018 • By Pierre-Henri Minot

En énonçant les objectifs 90-90-90 en 2014, l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé et l’ONUSIDA proposaient une impulsion nouvelle : notre génération pourrait voir la fin de l’épidémie du sida. Nombreuses sont les voies possibles pour arriver à ce résultat, et les initiatives de riposte accélérée des Villes, les Fast Track Cities, en sont une. C’est à Paris le 1er décembre 2014 qu’est né ce modèle des Villes sans sida[1], issu d’un constat : les 200 villes les plus touchées abritent à elles seules plus du quart des 35 millions de personnes vivant avec le VIH. En s’impliquant dans la riposte au VIH,...

It’s time for Toronto to step up: Let’s become a UNAIDS Fast-Track City

October 23, 2018 • By Darien Taylor

The past few years have been a rollercoaster for those of us most impacted by HIV. The use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) by people who are HIV-negative has gone from being discredited and shamed to become one of the keystones of a renewed and revitalized push to “end the HIV epidemic”. The other life-changing piece of research is the landmark PARTNER study that showed us, once and for all, that the sexual transmission of HIV does not occur in people whose viral loads are undetectable. The joyous global uptake of the U=U message has been nothing short of inspirational.

The critical state of trans health care and the importance of therapeutic alliance

May 28, 2018 • By Florence Ashley

I don’t really like medical spaces. For me, they’re not just spaces that are essential to my health, but also spaces of exclusion and trauma. How often have I heard about people from my communities being refused care? A chronic migraine blamed on hormones. An open wound left unbandaged because they “don’t have the expertise necessary to deal with that kind of people”. And what about inappropriate questions, wrong names on files, or deadnames read out loud in the waiting room, in front of everyone?

This is not a test: Why health equity matters in improving access to HIV testing

November 25, 2015 • By Jacqueline Gahagan, PhD

A test is a test, right? I’ve struggled with the issues of why HIV testing matters over the last 25 years, and over that time I’ve seen the ebb and flow of debates and discussions on why testing is still an important issue for Canada. I’ve also seen the frustration among those who do not have access to testing and why that matters. Yes, knowing your HIV status is still an important health issue for Canadians. However, with the complex array of debates on the pros and cons of testing, including the very real concerns about confidentiality; the need for...