Pacific AIDS Network

Job Posting – AIDS Vancouver: Casual Case Manager

heidi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:38:15 +0000

Working within a harm reduction model, Case Managers deliver services to agency clients by supporting the development of personalized health care plans which contain, as appropriate, strategies for improved medical support, housing, income, psycho-social needs and individual capacities as well as avenues to establish linkages with other community resources.

Deadline for Applications: February 17, 2012

To view the full posting, please click here.

Review: Social marketing interventions

heidi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:30:03 +0000

Check out the newly released Cochrane Collaboration review on “Social marketing interventions to increase HIV/STI testing uptake among men who have sex with men and male-to-female transgender women”. To download the paper, please click here.

Attend HepCBC Forum on CASL Consensus Guidelines for Mgmt of Viral Hepatitis

heidi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:24:37 +0000

HepCBC Hepatitis C Education & Prevention Society is pleased to invite you to a Public Interactive Forum about NEW “Consensus Guidelines” for the Management of Viral Hepatitis recommended by the Canadian Assn. for the Study of the Liver (CASL). Set aside Friday, Mar. 2, 2012 in Victoria, BC. All day, no charge. Limited seating so pre-register!

5 physician-researchers will present their ideas about viral hepatitis management guidelines. Public Q/A session will follow each presentation. Target audience: Medical professionals, Pharmaceutical reps, Patients & caregivers, Policy-makers, Media, anyone with an interest in new treatments and protocols for viral hepatitis, access to treatment, or Pharmacare coverage policies. We think a very interesting time will be had by all!

Click on the link below to pre-register. Remember, seating is limited! We cannot guarantee seating unless you pre-register

Get more information

Register Now!

If you have any questions about this event, please visit www.hepcbc.ca or contact the Events Coordinator at email or phone below. Our organization is run primarily by HCV+ people who are volunteers, but we strive to answer all inquiries within 48 hours or less.

If you cannot make it, note that event Powerpoints and video will be online at www.hepcbc.ca as soon as possible following the forum. We will be happy to take your email questions and ask them on your behalf as well.

HepCBC Events Coordinator: cherylreitz.hepcbc@gmail.com or 250-595-3892

Call for Proposals: Asian Outreach Project

heidi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:13:40 +0000

AIDS Vancouver and has been operating the Asian Community Outreach program over the past year. This is the only HIV and Harm Reduction program providing direct services to the Asian Community in the Lower Mainland. Yet the BC Centre for Disease Control 2009 Annual Report notes that Asians and South Asians account for the third largest group who are being newly diagnosed with HIV in British Columbia following Caucasians and First Nations people. There is a serious lack of services to the Asian community which is clearly an “at risk” community for HIV infections.

AIDS Vancouver strongly believes in the need to provide services in an outreach capacity to higher risk people and specific ethnic communities, in particular the Asian communities, here in the Lower Mainland. This is of particular concern following the closure of a key AIDS Service Organization (ASO), targeted to this population.

We are seeking a consultant to undertake a short term project to:

a) Develop and conduct an environmental scan of HIV education and prevention services to the Asian community in the lower mainland

b) Identify gaps and opportunities for volunteer services to provide prevention education workshops to at risk populations within the Asian community within the Lower Mainland.

c) Provide recommendations around gaps and opportunities to expand prevention and education services to at risk populations within the Asian community.

Term of Service: To March 31, 2012

Proposal Process

Interested consultants are invited to submit a proposal outlining: your proposed methodology and approach; project steps, deliverables and timelines; relevant qualifications of your team; and budget expectations. The maximum budget for the full scope of this project is $10,000.

Deadline for proposals is 5:00pm on Friday, February 10, 2012. Proposals may be submitted by email to: brianc@aidsvancouver.org. Please include “Asian Outreach Project” in the subject line.

PLEASE HELP INFORM HIV SERVICES IN VANCOUVER

heidi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:09:26 +0000

The STOP HIV/AIDS project has been running since Spring 2010, improving services for HIV, including testing, treatment and support for HIV+ people. There have been many changes in services over the last year or two.

Funding for the STOP HIV/AIDS project is finished in March 2013, and Vancouver Coastal Health wants to hear what you think has made a difference for people – and what still needs improvement.

Please click Vancouver STOP HIV survey to complete our survey – this should take no more than 10 minutes to complete.

DEADLINE: Please complete this survey by Saturday, February 25^th, 2012.

Please note: This survey is for people who are living in or receive HIV health services in Vancouver.

This survey is completely anonymous and we are not able to trace participant details in any way (IP addresses are not collected)

We are also holding community discussion groups about STOP HIV services in Vancouver. If you would like to join a community discussion, please contact Margreth Tolson (Margreth.tolson@vch.ca, 604-708-5320) for more information.

Stop the Stigma

heidi — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:04:42 +0000

Positive Action Canada Innovation Program 2011 – Grant Recipients

heidi — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:54:27 +0000

Here is the list of recipients for the Positive Action Canada HIV/AIDS Innovation Program (PACIP) 2011. Ten community-based HIV/AIDS organizations across Canada shared the $125,000 available.

Grant applications were reviewed by ViiV Healthcare Shire Canada in consultation with the PACIP Community Advisory Committee comprised of HIV/AIDS community experts drawn from across Canada. Final project selection and grant amounts was based on the Committee’s assessments and recommendations.

Information about PACIP 2012 will be available by May 2012.

A Call to Care sign-on statement

heidi — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:25:08 +0000

From the Canadian Health Coalition:

Dear friends,

As you are probably aware, we decided not to release the Call to Care sign-on statement at the First Ministers’ meeting in Victoria last week.

After some discussion it was decided it would be better to wait until we get substantially more sign-ons. As of today we have 150 signatories to the statement. We would like to reach 1000 before we go public – and we CAN do it with your help.

We strongly encourage everyone to please share the sign-on statement (below) with your networks if you haven’t done so already.

To quote from the sign-on: “What stands between Medicare and its destruction are the peoples of Canada. Future generations are depending on our vigilance.”

In solidarity,
Michael McBane, National Coordinator
Canadian Health Coalition
mike@medicare.ca

To view the full statement and a list of signatories, please click here.

Guest Blogger: Ross Harvey, Positive Living BC

heidi — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:07:40 +0000

It’s been a depressing few years for people who believe, as the Supreme Court of Canada put it in 1993:

“In fostering the underlying values of dignity, integrity and autonomy, it is fitting that s. 8 of the Charter should seek to protect a biographical core of personal information which individuals in a free and democratic society would wish to maintain and control from dissemination to the state.” (emphasis added)

And in 2000:

“…it has long been recognized that this freedom not to be compelled to share our confidences with others is the very hallmark of a free and democratic society.”

Hah!

The provincial Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (public sector) and the Personal Information Protection Act (private sector) still exist. But 2010’s Bill 11, and 2011’s Bill 3 have now inserted the legislative equivalent of “poison pills” into them, all but annihilating their previously substantial protections of personal privacy and control of personal information.

And the BC Government continues to build its Integrated Case Management system, the information sharing behemoth that will unite and make widely accessible virtually all the information collected on every citizen. Health information will be available to the police, social services counsellors’ notes will be available to education administrators, and everything known about you will be available to the Ministry of Labour, Citizens Services and Open Government.

So hello, there George Orwell. Welcome to British Columbia.

CATIE: HepC Info Update 3.1

heidi — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 23:03:43 +0000

Check out CATIE’s latest HepC Info Update! This issues topics include:

France: Is more frequent monitoring for liver cancer among co-infected people needed?
Crack pipe distribution pilot project in Vancouver
Health authority weighs adding more supervised injection sites
Researchers identify liver cancer risk factors
CDC reminder: Insulin pens are not for use on more than one person
An integrated alcohol abuse and medical treatment model for patients with hepatitis C – Digestive Diseases and Sciences, December 2011, in English
Help-seeking and coping with the psychosocial burden of chronic hepatitis C: A qualitative study of patient, hepatologist, and counsellor perspectives – International Journal of Nursing Studies, January 2012, in English
Neurocognitive Effects of HIV, Hepatitis C, and Substance Use History – Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, January 2012, in English

To read through the full update, please click here