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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.
August 28, 2013 by Mark Gilbert, Physician Epidemiologist, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
Understanding the window period of HIV tests – time from infection to a positive result – is important in order to provide appropriate information to clients, including when to test after a possible exposure to HIV. Progress in HIV testing has resulted in tests with shorter window periods, which can reduce client anxiety by shortening…
August 14, 2013 by Darlene Taylor, Research Program Manager, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
Background In BC, the law states that all persons over the age of 18 have the right to consent to health care unless they demonstrate that they are incapable of making a rational decision for themselves. Individuals with problematic substance use, and who are homeless or under-housed, have greater health needs than the general population….
July 3, 2013 by Sarah Chown, Research Coordinator, Positive Living BC
What’s GPS? Gay Poz Sex: Finding Your Own Way (GPS) is a new eight-week program at Positive Living BC, by and for gay and bisexual HIV-positive men. This peer-facilitated program is an opportunity for participants to look at ways of making changes in their sex lives. In many cases, participants leave the program feeling better…
June 27, 2013 by Darlene Taylor, Research Program Manager, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
The Canadian Association of HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR) hosted their annual conference in Vancouver on April 11-14, 2013. The CAHR conference is a great opportunity for scientists and community members from across Canada to get together and share new knowledge in the area of HIV and AIDS. The theme for this year’s conference was “Innovations to…
May 2, 2013 by Terri Buller-Taylor, Project Manager, Hepatitis Program, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
An estimated 60,000 British Columbians are affected by hepatitis C. The disease has a heterogeneous presentation and a slow, unpredictable course that leads to serious liver disease and liver cancer. Clinicians are unable to predict which patients will develop disease complications, making long term patient counseling on self-care and health promotion, disease monitoring, management and…
April 25, 2013 by Allison Carter, BSc., MPH, CHIWOS Provincial Coordinator (BC)
Background More and more women are living with HIV in Canada. This increasing proportion has evoked calls for women-centred services that are tailored to women’s needs. In response, a team of researchers, clinicians, community-based service providers, policy-makers, and women living with HIV from across Canada initiated a new study – the Canadian HIV Women’s Sexual…
April 18, 2013 by Jasmina Memetovic, mHealth Research Assistant, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC, Mia van der Kop, mHealth Research Epidemiologist, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
Background WelTel is a non-governmental organization committed to providing evidence-based, patient-centred mobile health solutions to support the management of HIV/AIDS and other health issues. WelTel’s text-messaging support service was initially found to be effective at improving health outcomes for patients starting HIV treatment in Kenya (1). Although the prevalence of HIV is significantly lower in…
January 17, 2013 by Darlene Taylor, Research Program Manager, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
In November 2012, the BCCDC hosted their annual Research Week, providing a forum for teams within BCCDC to share the results of their public health research. Below are some highlights from the sexual health-related research that was presented. For a complete summary of each research project, please view the attached poster presentations, located at the end of…
October 31, 2012 by Darlene Taylor, Monica Durigon, Melanie Achen, Gina Ogilvie (Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC)
Delivery of HIV test results has traditionally been done in person to allow for post-test counselling. Over the past 4 years, the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) has been offering notification of HIV results over the phone, saving time for clients and nurses. Notification of positive HIV test results, when done in a timely…
August 10, 2012 by Sarah Fielden, Manager, Provincial Point of Care HIV Testing Program
HIV testing can be intimidating for clients. They may fear: the process of being tested; waiting and worrying about the result; and, of course, the test result itself. As healthcare providers, we often look for ways to ease these fears in our clients and when it comes to HIV testing. Point of care (POC) HIV…