The BC-CfE HIV Pulse series is a comprehensive and concise fact sheet highlighting HIV/AIDS-related findings for health care professionals and administrators in the province of British Columbia. The series focuses on Treatment as Prevention¨ (TasP¨) -expanding access to earlier testing and immediate universal access to HIV treatment upon diagnosis-and its implementation in BC. The HIV Pulse fact sheets provide easy to access information on progress against HIV, persistent gaps and how to address these gaps.
The latest HIV Pulse looks at how HIV affects women in BC, a group that makes up approximately 18% of the population living with HIV in the province. The latest data shows HIV care and treatment for women is improving.
BC-CfE research has shown persistent gaps for women living with HIV, as they can face distinct barriers to accessing treatment and care. For example, a previous study led by the BC-CfE found that, while the life expectancy of people living with HIV has gone up across Canada, on average, women with HIV don’t live as long as men with HIV. The same study found that women were more likely to start HIV treatment later than men.
The numbers in the latest BC-CfE HIV Pulse demonstrate an improvement for women living with HIV, but there is still work to be done to reach the UNAIDS target of 90-90-90: 90% of those living with HIV diagnosed, 90% of those diagnosed on treatment, and 90% of those on treatment with suppressed viral loads. In the third quarter of 2016, of an estimated 1,833 women living with HIV, 89% were linked to care, 73% were retained in care, 66% were on treatment, 58% were adherent and 47% were suppressed.
Interestingly, women are now testing at a greater rate than men and are seeing generally declining rates of HIV since 2005; although there was a slight increased observed from 2013 to 2014. The highest proportion of new HIV diagnoses is found among women aged 30 to 39 years (37%), followed by those aged 20-29 (30%) years.
The positive trends among women living with HIV may reflect increasing knowledge about TasP¨, as well as the removal of some barriers to care through the creation of more inclusive standards on access to HIV testing and treatment. All British Columbians are now encouraged to have an HIV test. Several hospitals and primary care clinics in the province have implemented routine HIV testing. Additionally, in accordance with the TasP¨ approach, all individuals should be offered HIV treatment upon diagnosis, regardless of their CD4 count (an indicator of immune system health).
Despite these recommendations, women are generally still starting treatment later than men, according to the most recent data from BC. In 2016, the median CD4 count for women at ART initiation was lower, which could be explained by late diagnoses and the unique barriers women living with HIV face when accessing care and treatment.
Please download the fact sheet for more information. For more data related to STOP HIV/AIDS¨ program and the implementation of TasP¨ in the province of British Columbia, please see the STOP HIV/AIDS¨ Quarterly reports available at https://stophivaids.ca.