Posted On: Tuesday, November 7th, 2017
I attended the most recent BC Centre for Excellence in HIVAIDS (BCCfE) Antiretroviral update yesterday, and as usual, had lots to think about once the day concluded. Presentations covered cancer and HIV; cardiovascular disease risk and management; harm reduction and opioids; PEP guidelines and best practices. This post summarizes the morning’s information and community takeaways… Read more »
Posted On: Friday, November 3rd, 2017
A Public Health Agency of Canada webinar will provide key highlights on the status in Canada of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antimicrobial use (AMU) in humans and animals from the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (CARSS) 2017 annual report along with planned and current efforts to address surveillance gaps. The CARSS-2017 Report provides a snapshot… Read more »
Posted On: Wednesday, November 1st, 2017
We find ourselves at a crucial moment in our efforts to reform discriminatory and unjust laws and practices that criminalize people living with HIV. The Canadian Coalition to Reform HIV Criminalization (CCRHC) has developed a Community Consensus Statement on actions federal, provincial and territorial governments must take to address the overly broad use of… Read more »
Posted On: Tuesday, October 31st, 2017
Thank you to all the PAN and community members (established and new) that joined us for the Fall Conference, AGM, and PLHIV Forum last week in Richmond. We will be gathering resources from presenters and sharing them on the conference page so all who attended and those who weren’t able to can view them. In… Read more »
Posted On: Monday, October 30th, 2017
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer of Canada (Dr. Theresa Tam) has released her report on the state of public health in Canada. She chose designing healthy living as the topic for her first report as Chief Public Health Officer (CPHO) because of the tremendous potential that changing our built environment has for helping Canadians live… Read more »
Posted On: Friday, October 20th, 2017
Are you a health or social service provider? If so, the Canadian Public Health Association (CPHA) is interested in hearing from you about your learning and professional development needs related to sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBIs), sexual health and harm reduction in Canada. Our online survey should take between 10-15 minutes to complete and… Read more »
Posted On: Friday, October 20th, 2017
Updated November 1, 2017: Read the response letter from the Government In early October, PAN submitted a letter to the Premier John Horgan, Minister of Health Adrian Dix, and MLA Spencer Chandra-Herbert. PAN wrote in support of the request for PrEP to be immediately funded by the government of BC, a move initially advocated for… Read more »
Posted On: Tuesday, October 17th, 2017
On October 11, the BC Centre on Substance Use (BCCSU) released the province’s first-ever guidelines for prescribing injectable treatments for opioid addiction. Opioid use disorder is “one of the most challenging forms of substance use disorder facing the health care system in British Columbia” says the Executive Summary from the BCCSU. It also identifies fentanyl… Read more »
Posted On: Monday, October 16th, 2017
2017 Is the Year That HIV Stigma Is Finally Loosening reads the headline of a VICE piece. That caught my eye, given that stigma is still so often the point that people make when speaking about HIV, from those in communities contributing to the BC People Living with HIV Stigma Index Project to none… Read more »
Posted On: Sunday, October 8th, 2017
It’s interesting that Mental Health Day (October 10) and National Coming Out Day (October 11) nudge up against each other given they can be related. Coming out (or not) can deeply influence one’s mental health, and even after you’re out, stigma can be a problem in some layer of life. Family and friends may be… Read more »
Posted On: Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017
October 1-7 is Canada’s first HPV Prevention Week, boosted by the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. HPV is one of the most prevalent sexually transmitted infections (STI) and up to 75% of Canadian men and women will have it at some point in their lifetime. Many will clear the infection on their own, but… Read more »
Posted On: Monday, October 2nd, 2017
Today the Global Commission on Drug Policy released a position paper, The Opioid Crisis in North America. As the Commission site notes, the position papers are developed to “address specific and urgent situations involving drug policy around the world. These Papers do not aim to be comprehensive reports.” Sections within the paper are broken down into… Read more »
