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STI updates are blog posts from the BCCDC or our community partners about a variety of sexual health topics. These include program updates, clinical practice changes, new research, events, and more. We will not clutter your inbox with frequent emails, and your email address will not be used for any other purposes.
July 31, 2018 by Mawuena Binka, Research Associate, University of British Columbia and BC Centre for Disease Control
Background Hepatitis B (HBV) is a vaccine-preventable infection. People who have not been vaccinated, however, may become infected through contact with the body fluids of an HBV-infected person. While the early stages of HBV infection may be characterized by non-specific symptoms in some, many people are asymptomatic. Consequently, people living with acute HBV may progress…
July 16, 2018 by Terri Buller-Taylor, Research Manager, Hepatitis Education Canada, and Liza McGuinness, Project Manager, Hepatitis Education Canada
Background Patient and provider hepatitis C (HCV)-related knowledge gaps, present at every point on the HCV illness and care journey, are associated with lower care engagement.[1,2] Education is key for increased service uptake, especially since new treatments have >95% cure rates and can significantly reduce morbidity and mortality associated with chronic HCV infection.[3] Education needs-assessment…
June 13, 2018 by Travis Salway, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UBC School of Population and Public Health and BC Centre for Disease Control, and Lori Ross, Associate Professor, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto
Background Much of what we know about the health of sexual minorities (lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, two-spirit (LGBQ2), and other non-heterosexual groups) fails to account for meaningful differences within sexual minority populations. While recent decades have seen major advances in the visibility of gay and lesbian people, bisexual people remain a largely invisible group, despite…
May 9, 2018 by Madeline Gallard, Project Coordinator, Pacific Hepatitis C Network
The Hep C in BC Resources Project Pacific Hepatitis C Network (PHCN) is happy to report that our Hep C in BC Resources project has drawn to a successful close. This project ran from last fall to the end of March 2018. Given the recent availability of effective hepatitis C treatments with minimal side effects…
April 18, 2018 by Dr. Jennifer Wolowic, Managing Director of Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre, UBC School of Nursing
Research The Stigma and Resilience Among Vulnerable Youth Centre at the UBC School of Nursing collaborated with the Centre of Innovative Health in the United States to research STI risk and prevention knowledge among young women. Online focus groups were conducted with 160 lesbian and bisexual teen girls from across the United States, with a…
April 4, 2018 by Dr. Daniel Grace, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, and Dr. Darrell H.S. Tan, St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto
Background While barriers to access remain, PrEP is becoming increasingly available across Canada. We set out to learn from the experiences of gay men in Toronto who were part of the ‘first wave’ of PrEP users in Canada. Methods For this qualitative study, we recruited 16 participants who were part of a PrEP demonstration project…
February 14, 2018 by Travis Salway, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, UBC School of Population and Public Health, BC Centre for Disease Control
Background Sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI), and mental health and substance misuse problems co-occur at elevated rates in particular socially-marginalized sub-populations (e.g., sexual and gender minorities). This is primarily due to socio-structural processes of discrimination, exclusion, and segregation. These overlapping epidemics, or ‘syndemics’, are exacerbated by challenges these same sub-populations face in accessing culturally-safe…
November 22, 2017 by Rod Knight, Research Scientist, BC Centre on Substance Use
Background Policy makers and intervention strategists are increasingly aware that the Internet provides opportunities to meet young people “where they are at.” For example, young gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) represent a population that might benefit from online interventions that address sexually transmitted and blood borne infections, including HIV…
October 5, 2017 by Ashleigh Rich, PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia School of Population & Public Health; BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS
Background Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV across Canada, provincially in British Columbia (BC) and locally in Vancouver. In BC, MSM make up about half of new HIV infections as well about half of those living with HIV. Provincially, the HIV epidemic among MSM is concentrated in Metro Vancouver,…
August 25, 2017 by Nazrul Islam, University of British Columbia and Harvard University
Background The cure rate of Hepatitis C (HCV) treatment with newer direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents is very high (>95%). These treatments are also well-tolerated, bringing significant optimism to expanding treatment options to include more people at risk, particularly people who inject drugs (PWID). Barriers to accessing treatment by PWID have been widely reported, which has…