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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.
May 28, 2014 by Bobbi Brownrigg, Public Health Initiatives and Innovation Leader, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
Background Despite advances in HIV treatments, as well as campaigns aimed to decrease the stigma of HIV, a small but significant portion of individuals at risk of HIV in BC are delaying or not getting tested due to concerns about confidentiality.[1] To improve HIV testing options for these individuals, the BC Centre for Disease Control…
May 7, 2014 by Ashraf Amlani, Harm Reduction Epidemiologist, BCCDC
Harm reduction aims to keep people safe and minimize death, disease, and injury from high-risk behaviour. The BC Harm Reduction Program provides supplies and resources to enhance knowledge, skills, and supports for individuals, families and communities to be safer and healthier. The program provides the supplies listed below, as guided by the recent Best Practice…
April 23, 2014 by Sherri Leon Torres, Aboriginal Nurse Educator, Chee Mamuk Aboriginal Programs, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
“Stop doing for us, without us” –author unknown In the quest to improve health outcomes, health care workers sometimes forget to check in with the people they are helping. Chee Mamuk Aboriginal Program, housed at the BC Centre for Disease Control, has heard this message loud and clear. Aboriginal people living with HIV…
March 19, 2014 by James Tigchelaar, Educator, Clinical Prevention Services Education Team, BCCDC
Nurses who currently offer HIV testing in BC were likely introduced to the theory and practice through the BC Centre for Disease Control’s face-to-face (F2F) HIV testing workshop. The BCCDC Clinical Prevention Services Education program has now adapted this workshop to offer it as an online course. As with the F2F workshop, the goal of…
March 12, 2014 by LIza McGuinness, Project Manager, Hepatitis Services, Clinical Prevention Services, BCCDC
Looking for one stop, easy-to-understand information about hepatitis C for your patients? A free online learning module, Hepatitis C: The Basics, is now available. Hepatitis C: The Basics is a publicly-available course, hosted on the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) Learning Hub, and is aimed at the estimated 70,000 to 80,000 British Columbians affected by…
January 8, 2014 by Elayne Vlahaki, Program Manager, BC HIV/HCV Evaluation Advisory Group, Pacific AIDS Network
Community-based organizations play a critical role in the response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic in BC. Over the past two years, the Pacific AIDS Network and the BC HIV/HCV Evaluation Advisory Group have been collecting the necessary data to demonstrate this community contribution through the design and implementation of the Community HIV/HCV Evaluation and Reporting Tool…
January 2, 2014 by Stephanie Martin, Community Engagement and Communications Manager, McCreary Centre Society
The BC Adolescent Health Survey This past spring, nearly 30,000 youth in grades 7-12 in BC completed the fifth BC Adolescent Health Survey (BC AHS). This is the largest and most representative survey of its kind, with students in 56 of the province’s 59 school districts taking part. Since 1992, the BC AHS has provided…
November 27, 2013 by Angela Kaida, Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Background There is a clear and long overdue need for research that acknowledges and addresses the gendered barriers to HIV treatment and care for Canadian women. After more than two packed years of preparation and development, CHIWOS was officially launched on October 1st, 2013, at the start of Women’s Health Awareness month. CHIWOS aims to…
November 13, 2013 by Taylor Perry, GPS Research Coordinator, Positive Living BC
First described in a July blog post, the new eight-week GPS (Gay Poz Sex) program is well underway at Positive Living BC. Having completed its third group at the beginning of September, the GPS Vancouver group is actively recruiting for its first randomized controlled trial (RCT), which will test the efficacy of the program. The…
October 22, 2013 by Brett O’Reilly, Fund Development and Communications Coordinator, AIDS Vancouver
History It was in early 2012 that Brian Chittock, executive director at AIDS Vancouver, first began considering what to do for AIDS Vancouver’s 30th Anniversary. A significant milestone in the history of Canada’s oldest AIDS service organization, Brian wanted to ensure the date was marked by an event both memorable and relevant to AIDS Vancouver…