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An estimated 1 in 10 Ottawa residents living with HIV are unaware that they have it, but health officials are working to change that.
Health
Pop-up event aims to reduce stigma and get more people tested for HIV
Test kits will be distributed on Tuesday, June 27th. People can take kits home or get help to test them on site.
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Next week, representatives from the Ottawa Public Health Department and organizations that help people living with HIV and AIDS will host pop-up testing booths with information sessions to reduce the number of people who remain undiagnosed in the city.
Patrick O’Byrne, professor of nursing at the University of Ottawa and nurse at Ottawa Public Health, said the outreach event on Tuesday, National HIV Testing Day, will reduce stigma around HIV testing and encourage more people to get tested. He said it should help him reach his hands. .
O’Byrne is one of the creators of GetaKit, a free at-home HIV test kit. This is similar to a rapid test for COVID-19, but it requires a finger prick test similar to the diabetes test.
O’Byrne said the kits will be distributed next Tuesday, June 27, at a pop-up booth at 55 ByWard Market Square. People can take kits home or get help to do it on site.
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O’Byrne is optimistic that the event will help reach some people who have never been tested for HIV. That happened recently when a similar pop-up was held in Kingston.
O’Byrne said stigma remains the biggest barrier preventing people from getting tested and getting treatment if they test positive.
“Stigma is probably the biggest problem we face with HIV. It discourages people from being tested and isolates them,” O’Byrne said.
One of the most important messages that organizations participating in outreach efforts such as OPH, the Ottawa AIDS Commission and MAX Ottawa want to convey is that HIV is as easy to manage as any chronic disease.
In the mid-to-late 1990s, HIV treatment consisted of taking multiple pills daily. Now it can be treated with injections every 8 weeks.
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“This is amazing progress,” O’Byrne said.
UNAIDS, the United Nations Joint Program on HIV/AIDS, has set a goal that 95 percent of people living with HIV will be diagnosed, treated and have undetectable levels of HIV in their bodies.
Canada has achieved its initial target of 90%, O’Byrne said, but efforts are continuing to achieve higher levels of testing, treatment and outcomes over the next few years.
Ottawa has seen a steady improvement in the rate of new infections in recent years, he said.
GetaKit tests also include chlamydia and gonorrhea tests. According to Ottawa Public Health, they are the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infections in Ottawa, and infection rates have increased significantly over the past five years. These could also be risk factors for HIV infection, O’Byrne said.
GetaKit is part of a University of Ottawa study evaluating an online evaluation and mailing system for sexual health services, including testing and prevention.
People over the age of 16 who are HIV-negative, or whose status is unknown, who are sexually active, or who use injecting drugs may be eligible for self-testing. For more information, visit getakit.ca.
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