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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.
February 10, 2021 by Sarah Watt, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Background Anxiety and other mental health concerns are common among people accessing sexual health services, many of whom are not connected to mental health supports(1). A team of researchers from the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) and Simon Fraser University developed ‘Supporting and addressing anxiety in sexual health care: A resource for providers’, which…
Learn more about Addressing sexual health-related anxiety among sexual health service users
January 31, 2021 by Oralia Gómez-Ramírez, Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia; Hsiu-Ju Chang, Research Manager, BC Centre for Disease Control
Background Risk calculators for HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) use responses to sociodemographic (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity, geographic location), health status, or behavioural questions to estimate a person’s risk for developing or acquiring STIs. They can also inform the most appropriate action for users to take. Identifying features for online risk calculators that…
Learn more about HIV/STI risk calculators: What do online users want?
January 25, 2021 by Sarah Watt, Faculty of Health Sciences, Simon Fraser University
Collaborators at the Health Initiative for Men, the Community-Based Research Centre, and Simon Fraser University have developed and launched MindMapBC. MindMapBC is an online database of accessible, free or low-cost, and/or LGBTQ2+-affirming mental health supports. Experiences of stigma, discrimination, and marginalization among LGBTQ2+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans-, queer, Two-Spirit, and other gender- and sexually-diverse) people…
Learn more about MindMapBC: An online database of LGBTQ2+-affirming mental health supports
January 12, 2021 by Monica Durigon, Nurse Educator, Clinical Prevention Services, BC Centre for Disease Control
What is an HIV self-test? Point of Care (POC) HIV tests, also known as “rapid” HIV tests, screen for HIV antibodies and have been used in clinics and health care settings for many years. On November 2, 2020, Health Canada approved the INSTI® HIV Self-Test for use and sale. It is the same test used…
Learn more about HIV Self-Test approved for use in Health Canada