Ahead of World AIDS Day on December 1st, we asked several BC-CfE researchers about their work and how it relates to this year’s World AIDS Day theme of ‘End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics’. Dr. Kate Salters, a BC-CfE research scientist, leads the Viral Hepatitis Research Program.
Q.
Tell us about your role and the focus/study of your work?
A.
I am a research scientist with the BC-CfE and I currently lead the Viral Hepatitis Research Program here. I am also one of the scientific leads on the SHAPE and SHARE projects, which are research studies that evaluate the provincial STOP HIV/AIDS¨ initiatives. I am based at the H2H complex in the Downtown Eastside and a lot of the recent work I am doing is related to implementing and evaluating public health and clinical interventions that improve health care and health outcomes of people living with and most impacted by HIV and/or hepatitis C.
Q.
What role does HIV play in your work and how does it impact your participants?
A.
I first and foremost consider myself to be an HIV researcher and community ally. I’ve tried to take some of the lessons I’ve learned about HIV care and treatment and apply them to other areas of research, including hepatitis C. That includes recognizing the value in working with community and in being responsive to real challenges facing the community. It also means ensuring we are looking at important clinical outcomes in research, but also considering other important measures to clients, like quality of life.
Q.
The theme of World AIDS Day this year is ‘End Inequalities. End AIDS. End Pandemics’. How do inequalities in HIV care influence your work and are there opportunities to address inequalities to HIV care in your work?
A.
While effective HIV treatment is free in BC, we know that important barriers to care still exist. Over the years, we have seen the overwhelming evidence around the effectiveness of modern antiretroviral therapy (ART) in reducing morbidity and mortality, but recognize that not everyone is equally able to realize the benefits of ART. Through the CIHR-funded SHARE study, we are hearing from people living with HIV just how critical patient-centred care is to them feeling supported and engaged in HIV treatment. We have heard really wonderful examples of how providing non-judgemental health care and meeting patients where they are at makes a difference in them feeling supported and ready to engage (or re-engage) in HIV care.
Q.
Can you share any examples of participants overcoming barriers to HIV care thanks to the work you do? And if there’s examples of barriers to HCV care, please include this as well.
A.
(Note: yikes, I don’t think I can take credit for anything). However, there is a GREAT new project that we’ve just launched (as of November 9th), called Hep C Connect, based at H2H. It is a pilot project funded for 12 months from Gilead. Recognizing that there are unique barriers to care for people who use drugs, while also being disproportionately impacted by hepatitis C, we have launched a new, low-barrier linkage to care program for hepatitis C. We are offering rapid point-of-care hepatitis C tests for clients of a new supervised consumption site. We also offer tailored nursing care and support in order to facilitate linkage to care and, if appropriate, hepatitis C treatment. We are assessing participants health care experiences, knowledge of hepatitis C, and characterizing their engagement in care over time. We believe, even in the early stages of this project, that we’re supporting clients who have previously slipped through the cracks of the health care system. It is already demonstrating that offering services, like hepatitis C testing, education and care, in low-barrier settings where people feel welcomed and safe, can make a big difference.