Health Connect
Launched January 2024 – Closed recruitment and data collection February 2026
The Health Connect study was designed to leverage the integrated services of the entire H2H complex (the primary care clinic and supervised consumption site). We offer on-site, POC HCV antibody testing to all clients accessing the H2H SCS and invite them to take part in a longitudinal survey assessing their care trajectories and health care experiences. As a standard of care (SoC), participants are given the opportunity to engage in STBBI screening by means of dried blood spot (DBS) testing and a primary care referral to the H2H clinic (if unattached to primary care). As part of our research, we evaluate the SoC.
Funding
Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)
STUDIES MENU
Ethics
The study protocol is approved by the University of British Columbia and Providence Health Care Ethics Review Board (H21-01534).
Objectives
01.
To characterize access to primary and community healthcare and monitor health outcomes among a cohort of people who use drugs.
02.
To monitor health priorities and concerns among a cohort of under-served and unattached clients of a supervised consumption site and safer supply program in a low-barrier setting.
03.
To evaluate a patient-centered linkage to care intervention and retention for clients tested for HCV, HIV, and syphilis through the SoC DBS intervention at the H2H SCS.
Study team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Kate Salters, BC CfE, UBC
Clinical Research Coordinator
Alannah Hannigan, BC CfE
Research Assistant
Nandini Krishnan, BC CfE, UBC
Peer Support Specialist
Douglas Vickers, BC CfE
Co-Investigators
- Dr. David Hall, Vancouver Coastal Health
- Dr. Julio Montaner, BC CfE, UBC
- Dr. Marianne Harris, BC CfE, UBC
- Dr. Mark Hull, BC CfE, UBC
- Dr. Ronald Joe, BC CfE, UBC
- Dr. Gabriela Sincraian, BC CfE, UBC
- Scott Emerson, BC CfE, UBC
- Dr. Meaghan Thumath, VCH
- Dr. Lindsay Hedden, SFU
- Dr. Silvia Guillemi, UBC
PRELIMINARY
Findings
The research team successfully completed 299 phase 1 baseline interviews between January and November 2024 and found DBS to be an acceptable means of screening for STBBIs among this priority population. A total of 258/299 (86%) individuals chose to engage in DBS testing for HCV, HIV and syphilis. Encouragingly, 149/288 (52%) of participants reported being offered some form of STBBI testing in the previous 12- months.
- Phase 2 of the Health Connect study launched in September 2025 (open cohort design, with a particular focus on retaining folks from phase 1). This phase focused solely on the Health Connect interviewer administered surveys. Data collection for this phase wrapped in February 2026 following 305 participant interviews.
Following the completion of data collection, the Health Connect team, with the support of Sarah Kelly, the BC CfE knowledge translation coordinator, are working to develop a plan for scaling up DBS in community settings . We will collaborate with a wide range of partners across Canada in order to mobilize knowledge around the potential role and impact of DBS testing and suggest how it may be used to better engage people who might not otherwise be tested.