*** WE DID IT! ***
Thank you for your help recruiting participants!
This will be our last Engage newsletter. To see our study results once they are published please visit our website.
We have wrapped up recruitment for the Engage Study and would like to thank all of you for your help identifying participants. In total, we enrolled 90 individuals in the study and have started to prepare our insightful results.
– Key Findings Submitted to CAHR 2016 –
We have submitted two abstracts to the 2016 Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR) using Engage data. The first describes factors associated with CD4 count at time of ART initiation, and the second describes factors associated with length of time between HIV diagnosis and ART initiation. Below are some of the key findings included in these abstracts:
– BIG NEWS! New Study –
The SHAPE Study
(The Stop HIV/AIDS Program Evaluation Study)
The BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS (BC-CfE) is launching a new study, called SHAPE, in early February 2016. This survey-based study aims to understand the experiences of individuals living with HIV. The survey asks for feedback on HIV testing, HIV health care and ART medications. The purpose is to learn whether individuals are now facing fewer challenges accessing and remaining in care, compared with before the province-wide rollout of the STOP HIV/AIDS Program.
STOP HIV/AIDS, or “Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS,” was expanded to include all of British Columbia as of April 1, 2013 (following a four-year pilot project). The program allows health professionals and community partners to better engage the broader community and specific at-risk groups in HIV testing, to reach more people with HIV/AIDS, and to enable more British Columbians to be treated.
The BC-CfE is recruiting 810 individuals living with HIV from across BC to participate in the SHAPE Study. The study can be done online, over the phone using our toll-free number (1-855-506-8615, option 2) or in-person at St. Paul’s Hospital. Participants receive $30 for their time.
This is the first time that our studies are available online, in an effort to make the survey more accessible.
Further information on this project can be found at our study website.