Tag: HIV | Page 3 | CATIE Blog

Remembering Joanne Lindsay

July 20, 2023 • By Laurie Edmiston

I was deeply saddened to learn the news of Joanne Lindsay’s passing from cancer on July 15, 2023, surrounded by her husband Hamza, son Charlie and daughter Chiku. Joanne was first elected to CATIE’s board of directors in 2017 and served as its treasurer for the last five years. She was a passionate community leader and contributed to the governance of multiple community-based organizations and programs, as well as being involved as a researcher, educator, mentor and community activist. I know that her former colleagues at the Ontario HIV Treatment Network, the Ontario AIDS Network, the MAP Centre for Urban...

Trauma-informed HIV testing: creating safe environments for LGBTQ2S+ people

June 26, 2023 • By Dan Udy

LGBTQ2S+ people across Canada can face many barriers to healthcare, including possible trauma related to sexual and gender identities. Structural factors like homophobia and transphobia mean that these communities face many social issues such as higher rates of unemployment, lower incomes, and lower access to housing. For BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour) LGBTQ2S+ people, racism can compound these issues. Such challenges make it harder to access services like primary healthcare or mental healthcare. As a result, HIV testing appointments might be the only chance for help with mental health, drug use, housing or intimate partner violence. Someone in...

Three important things to know about hepatitis C and HIV among people who inject drugs

April 25, 2023 • By Camille Arkell

In Canada, recent estimates show that people who inject drugs continue to be disproportionately affected by high rates of hepatitis C and HIV. They are also less likely to be tested, connected to care or receive treatment. To prevent hepatitis C and HIV, as well as improve outcomes for people who inject drugs, it is important to gain a better understanding of how changes in the drug supply and related trends impact vulnerability to these infections and how we can improve supports. To identify where these additional supports are most needed, the following three important points can help us to...

The Medicine Bundle: An Indigenous approach to HIV self-testing

February 15, 2023 • By Lane Bonertz

In April 2022, the Two-Spirit Program at Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) launched the pilot of the Medicine Bundle, an HIV self-testing initiative in British Columbia created by and for Two-Spirit and LGBTQ+ Indigenous folks. The pilot emerged from nearly two years of consultation and engagement with Elders, activists, researchers and community members within the Two-Spirit community, who provided guidance on culturally sensitive and intentional ways to address disparities in access to HIV testing. Following its initial run in August 2022, the Medicine Bundle has now returned to once again serve Indigenous folks wishing to access HIV self-testing. This time around,...

The Northern, Remote and Isolated Indigenous Communities Initiative: Community-based testing from COVID-19 to HIV and STBBI

February 15, 2023 • By Adrienne Meyers and Paul Sandstrom

Access to HIV and STBBI testing Laboratory testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) can be inaccessible to certain populations such as northern, remote and isolated Indigenous (NRI) communities. This is due to several factors, such as: Decentralized, community-owned, community-based testing (CBT) and health services help address these factors and reduce historical health inequities faced by people living in NRI communities throughout Canada. Providing a variety of innovative testing options can be particularly useful for reaching the undiagnosed by offering greater accessibility, privacy and convenience, as well as by reducing the stigma associated with accessing conventional...

HIV self-testing: a new tool in our toolbox

February 15, 2023 • By Ayibatonye Oriakhi and Christie Johnston

HIV self-testing has arrived in Canada! As we reported a few months ago, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) announced new funding to increase access to HIV self-testing. Since then, community-based organizations across the country have been distributing HIV self-test kits for free, as well as supporting their clients to use them. Distribution began in November 2022 and is expected to continue at least until March 2023. Together with PHAC, Communities, Alliances & Networks (CAAN), CATIE, Community-Based Research Centre (CBRC) and REACH Nexus are collaborating to support frontline workers to incorporate self-testing into their services. We are working with...