On behalf of the STOP HIV/AIDS Program Evaluation (SHAPE) 2.0 study team at BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, you are invited to participate as a community partnering site in the new phase of the SHAPE study.
About the study
The SHAPE study is a longitudinal cohort study of people living with HIV (PLWH) across BC which aims to understand, through a survey, the quality of healthcare, and the health priorities and experiences of PLWH. More information on the SHAPE study is outlined below. We can also send you a study protocol and survey guide which you can forward to your interested staff so they can see what types of information we hope to learn from people living with HIV across BC.
The SHAPE study first launched in 2016 in order to characterize healthcare experiences and outcomes among people living with HIV, as well as characterize retention across the cascade of care for HIV. The ‘first phase’ of the study wrapped in September 2021, which captured the experiences of 644 people living with HIV across BC.
Through community engagement and guidance from the SHAPE steering committee, we have heard that the priorities, concerns and realities of PLWH across BC has dramatically changed since the start of the provincial STOP/HIV strategy more than a decade ago. While HIV treatment has had clear success in improving HIV-related morbidity and mortality, there is a clear need to understand the quality of healthcare, as well as the health priorities and experiences of PLWH in order to adapt and improve our health services. The changing landscape of HIV services, aging, mental health and substance use, and chronic comorbidities that are uniquely impacting PLWH is the focus of this new phase of the SHAPE study.
In the new phase of the study (SHAPE 2.0):
• Our goal is to reach about 4,000 people living with HIV across all health authorities in BC
• We will be using a one-time survey which will be available to complete once over a 24-month period (2024-2025) for all people living with HIV in BC who meet the below inclusion criteria:
o Living with HIV
o 19 years of age or older
o Currently living in British Columbia
o Connected to the Drug Treatment Program (by having had an HIV lab test and/or received HIV medications in British Columbia)
o Able to complete the survey in English
o Able to provide informed consent
• Participants’ survey responses will be linked to health registry and administrative health records to reduce the amount of information we have to collect on the survey.
• We have made it easy to participate in the study so that we can hear from diverse communities of people living with HIV in BC.
Study information for potential participants
• This one-time survey takes about 1 hour to complete and participants are provided with a $40 honorarium to thank them for their time for completing the survey.
• Participants may complete their survey fully and easily online by themselves by going to https://www.bccfe.ca/research/SHAPE/participants
• If they prefer to be interviewed by phone or in-person, they can schedule an appointment with one of our peer interviewers by emailing us at [email protected] or calling our toll-free number 1-855-506-8615.
SHAPE 2.0: Current Progress
We launched the new phase of the SHAPE study (SHAPE 2.0) survey in August 2024. To date, about 170 participants have enrolled in the study and completed their survey.
We started promoting the study in the Vancouver Coastal Health area and Fraser Health area. We are now planning to expand the study’s reach to other health authorities and are, thus, relying on our community partners to spread the word about the survey.
Our ask from community partners
We would like to collaborate with your organization in order to reach as many PLWH in as possible for the new phase of the SHAPE study. This would involve:
• Participant recruitment – Your support in displaying posters and distributing fliers or postcards for the study at your site and/or telling PLWH about it who may be interested in participating. We are expecting the study to run for 2 years and aiming to recruit up to 4,000 people living with HIV across BC.
• Knowledge transfer – We would also share regular updates with your team in the form of study newsletters and invite you to participate in the SHAPE community steering committee meetings. These meetings provide a chance for us to further explain the study and our partnership proposal to our community partners and co-investigators from all regional health authorities. We’d love to have someone from your team who is interested to know more about the study as a part of our steering committee!
Our current community partners
Three Bridges Community Health Centre, Downtown Community Health Centre, Pender Community Health Centre, Heatley Community Health Centre, Insite, Ribbon Community, Kilala Lelum, Health Initiative for Men (HiM), Spectrum Health, Dr Peter Centre, Vancouver Friends For Life Society, Oak Tree Clinic, The Heart of Richmond AIDS Society, Positive Health Services (Jim Pattison Outpatient Care and Surgery Centre), Positive Haven Resource Centre (Lookout Housing and Health Society), Phoenix Society Abbotsford Community Hub Centre, Positive Wellness HIV and North Island Liver Services, AVI Health and Community Services, Kamloops Infectious Disease clinic (the Juniper Clinic) at the Royal Inland Hospital, Central Interior Native Health Society, and more!
Contact us
SHAPE Study Research Coordinator
Farnaz Azarmju (she/her)
E: [email protected]
T: 604-682-2344 ext. 66882