In 2014, GetCheckedOnline set out to improve sexually-transmitted and blood-borne infection (STBBI) testing and treatment by removing barriers to sexual health care. It is British Columbia’s (BC) digital testing service for STBBIs operated by the BC Centre for Disease Control and the BC Public Health Laboratory. It was first launched in Vancouver and is now available in eight other communities across the province (Victoria, Langford, Duncan, Kamloops, Nelson, Kimberly, Maple Ridge, and Dawson Creek).
Through the Digital & Sexual Health Initiative, evidence collection over the last decade shows that GetCheckedOnline:
- Increases the uptake of STBBI testing and treatment.
- Is valued and gives people control over their STBBI testing.
- Reduces barriers people face getting tested.
- Reaches people who are more likely to have an infection.
- Leads to more frequent testing, helping reduce the spread of STBBI.
- Improves the capacity of other sexual health services.
- Reduces demands in primary care for testing.
- Improves equity in access to testing for many groups.
- Avoids health systems costs and improves sustainability.
Check out the full impact report here. Additionally, this article in the Tyee highlights how GetCheckedOnline complements teams like SWAN Vancouver, in their goal to bring low-barrier mobile testing to immigrant and migrant women who do indoor sex work.
So, what’s next?
Evaluating a program’s outcomes and impact is important. However, equally important, is the promotion of accountability and ongoing quality improvement through future program planning.
The evidence collected to date helps GetCheckedOnline see where their next 10 years may take them. Bringing GetCheckedOnline to more rural and remote communities in BC, where testing barriers and stigma may be greater, could have great benefit. There is also a need to see how GetCheckedOnline can better meet with people not yet well engaged in the service, including First Nations, Métis, and Inuit. Finally, as referred to in the Tyee article, it may be important to explore how the provincial health and laboratory systems could better integrate GetCheckedOnline for sustainability.
GetCheckedOnline and the Digital & Sexual Health Initiative are committed to implementation science (closing the gap between what we know and what we do) and equity-focused research; informed by the people and communities that use the program (and those who do not use it) to help understand, navigate, and adapt to the changing worlds of digital health services and sexual health care.
Resources for Health Promotion Planning:
There are six National Collaborating Centres (NCCs) for Public Health that promote the use of evidence and knowledge to strengthen public health practices and policies in Canada. Three key centres that may be helpful for planning the future of a program like GetCheckedOnline are:
The National Collaborating Centre for Methods and Tools. A great resource for evidence-informed decision making in public health;
The National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health. Creating links between evidence, knowledge, practice and policy while advancing self-determination and Indigenous knowledge in support of optimal health and well-being; and
The National Collaborating Centre for Determinants of Health. Supporting communities with knowledge and resources to act on the structural and social determinants of health to achieve health equity through public health practice and policy.
The other National Centres are: The National Collaborating Centre for Health Public Policy, The National Collaborating Centre for Environmental Health, and The National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases.
Questions? Feedback? Get in touch!
This post was prepared for PAN’s Research and Evaluation Treehouse by:
Emily Taylor-Lariviere, PAN Practicum Student