New report: HIV Futures 9 - a national survey of people living with HIV
HIV Futures 9 is a study of quality of life among people living with HIV (PLHIV) in Australia, and is part of a series of studies that has been running since 1997. 847 people living with HIV completed the 148 - question survey about quality of life, financial security, health, wellbeing, treatment, support, sex, relationships, HIV-related stigma and ageing.
Download the HIV Futures 9 report here
Some key findings:
- Findings from HIV Futures 9 suggests Australia is on track to meet the National HIV Strategy 2018 – 2022 targets with 98.4% on treatment (target: 95%) and 89.3% undetectable (target: 95%).
- 63.1% had a good quality of life (measured using the PozQuol instrument), which is well below the National HIV Strategy target of 75%
- Poorer quality of life was associated with financial, housing and food insecurity, past or current mental health diagnosis, less social connectedness, less connection with support services and other PLHIV, being aged 50-64
- Rates of mental health diagnosis were higher than the general population, and higher than the HIV Futures 8 sample.
- Women participants in HIV Futures 9, when compared to the sample as a whole, were more likely to be born overseas and more likely to have experienced recent financial stress. Women reported a longer time between HIV acquisition and diagnosis, and were less likely to have an undetectable viral load
- One in three had never been tested for hepatitis C. Of those who had, most (58.3%) had only been tested once.
- More than half (56.6%) of the sample had experienced HIV related stigma or discrimination in the past 12 months, 38% had been treated differently or negatively by a healthcare worker because of their HIV.
New report: Medicare ineligible PLHIV in Australia
This NAPWHA report is an analysis drawing together several years’ worth of data from the main pharmaceutical industry suppliers of compassionate access antiretroviral (ARV) therapy in Australia and combines this with, for the first time, data from the State and Territory jurisdictions to produce the most accurate estimate to-date of the number of Medicare ineligible PLHIV in Australia. It comes with recommendations for systemic improvements. Download
Intimate Attitudes, Practices And Knowledges: Chinese-speaking international students in Australia
In 2018, University of Melbourne and Burnet Institute conducted the survey: Intimate attitudes, practices and knowledges: Chinese-speaking international students in Australia. This study generated data on Chinese international students’ sexual experiences to inform sexual health service provision in Australia.
Download the report here
NEW ASHM PrEP guidelines Sept 2019 update
From 1 April 2018, the brand and generic versions of TD*/FTC became available through the Australian Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) at subsidised cost for HIV PrEP (17). Whereas previously PrEP was available only through clinical trials, private scripts or through personal importation, it can now be prescribed by all general practitioners (GP) using PBS scripts.
The recommendations in these guidelines are designed to:
- support the prescribing of PrEP using either ARTG-listed and PBS subsidised drugs, or the same or other generic drugs that are available through personal importation, or by paying the full price with a private script
- assist clinicians in their evaluation and HIV risk assessment of patients who are seeking PrEP
- assist clinicians in initiating their patients on PrEP by providing information on PrEP dosing schedules
- assist clinicians in the monitoring of patients on PrEP, including testing requirements and management of side-effects and toxicity
New CEH PrEP Campaign designed for multicultural communities
The Centre for Culture, Ethnicity and Health has recently released a suite of PrEP resources for migrant and mobile communities including simple questions and answers, information about PrEP and a series of simple short videos. Check them out here.
New report The System is Broken – audit of Australia’s mandatory disease testing laws
The aim of this paper – a national audit of Australia’s mandatory disease spitting laws – is to better understand how mandatory testing laws are being applied. Aside from the mandatory testing laws being at odds with national HIV testing policy and operating outside the clearly structured and highly successful HIV responses managed by Department of Health, the audit found in many instances, the laws, their implementation, and monitoring were flawed. See also HIV experts fear 'spitting laws' being misused by police
New resource: guide to non-stigmatising language in AOD settings
The Power of Words contains evidence-based advice on using non-stigmatising language, and features an easy-to-navigate, colour-coded directory of alternative words and phrases to suit a range of common scenarios.
There’s power in language. By focusing on people, rather than their use of alcohol and other drugs, and by choosing words that are welcoming and inclusive, professionals working with people who use alcohol and other drugs can reduce the impact of stigma.
New video - Let’s talk about hep C!
Hepatitis Victoria has developed a new anti-stigma video called ‘Let’s talk about hep C’. It addresses the importance of front-line healthcare workers being confident to discuss hepatitis C and doing this in a non-stigmatising way.
It is designed for front-line healthcare workers who are working to increase awareness and knowledge among people living with and at risk of hepatitis C and is also a useful resource for those involved in relevant education and training. The video features both people with lived experience and healthcare workers familiar with hepatitis C. It highlights the impact of stigma and discrimination and provides insights and tips for workers to improve engagement and conversation around hepatitis C.
It can be found here. And more information can be found here. If you would like this video in a format that is available for download to be more easily shared and utilised please contact us and we will work with you to arrange this. For further information or if you have any feedback please contact isabelle@hepvic.org.au
New edition of LPV’s Poslink newsletter
Latest edition featuring articles on HIV, mobility and migration.
New podcast: Crystal Clear
This is a podcast about negotiating pleasures and risk around sex on crystal. It is produced by The Centre for Social Research in Health at UNSW Sydney, in partnership with ACON, Thorne Harbour Health, South Australia Mobilisation and Empowerment for Sexual Health, and Western Australian AIDS Council.
These episodes feature data from this research with expert commentary from community members and health workers.
Ep 1 - strategies men use to manage use
Ep 2 - those who support GBM who use crystal
Ep 3 - health services in sexual health, AOD and harm reduction.
Report from the Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Health Survey
This report provides an overview of data collected via the inaugural Australian Trans and Gender Diverse Sexual Health Survey. The survey was established in 2018 as a community-led collaborative effort to better understand and support the sexual health and well-being of Australia’s trans and gender diverse communities. The survey found that many trans and gender diverse people lead fulfilling sexual and romantic lives. The survey also found, however, a number of areas requiring urgent attention. These include:
- The prevalence of sexual violence or coercion among trans and gender diverse people is exceptionally high
- When accessing care related to sexual health, trans and gender diverse people experience marginalisation because of their gender
- Trans and gender diverse people are unable to access some or all of the medical processes they seek to affirm their gender
- Sex education does not support the needs of trans and gender diverse people.
Access the report here
Discreet Lives: HIV prevention, testing and linkage to care for men who have sex with men – webinar
Men who have sex with men, but who do not identify as gay or bisexual are a priority group in the NSW Health HIV response. People in this group may not or engage with traditional STI and HIV testing services, and may not even see themselves as being at risk of acquiring HIV.
General practice has a key role to play in preventing, testing and linking to care. This webinar helps equip GPs with the skills to identify patients within their practice who are at risk of HIV, and discuss HIV risk, prevention and treatment options.
This webinar, presented by Dr Catriona Ooi and Dr Tim Senior, also shares tools and resources that will help in the delivery of primary HIV care.
Victorian BBV STI even ts calendar
This events calendar aims to create a central 'depot' for Victorian BBV/STI training and events. Remember to upload your event!
Access and Equity II: Inclusive and culturally sensitive SRH services in Victoria
(and how to build them) – 8 October 2019
Interested in improving sexual and reproductive health services to better meet the needs of a diverse range of service users? Unsure of how we might best achieve this?
Join Women’s Health Victoria on 8 October as we bring together professionals from the sexual and reproductive health sector to identify ways in which we can build and develop services which are inclusive, sensitive and informed by lived experience. The event will be MC’d by Dr Ruth De Souza.
Including presentations from:
- Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health
- Women with Disabilities Victoria
- Thorne Harbour Health
- Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
There will also be a facilitated panel discussion with people sharing their lived experiences, followed by a short workshop focusing on translating knowledge into practice.
When: Tuesday 8 October, 2019, 11.00am - 4.00pm (Lunch and refreshments provided)
Where: Victoria Room, Queen Victoria Women’s Centre, 210 Lonsdale Street, 3000
Cost: $50 (+GST) full, $30 (+GST) concession
Tickets: here
Contact: renata.anderson@whv.org.au
Safer Using Seminar – launch of new resources for NSP workers and clients – 10 October 2019
These new resources include Victoria’s first-ever comprehensive NSP Handbook, as safer using series and an NSP calendar. These resources are designed to support NSP workers to improve the safety and health outcomes of their clients. As part of the release, Penington Institute are conducting a series of free, state-wide Safer Using Seminars to introduce the new resources and train workers in the implementation of the NSP Handbook. Invitees are not limited to NSP staff exclusively. The Safer Using Seminar is relevant to a range of professionals who may work with people who use drugs.
When: Thurs, 10 October 2019, 10:00 am – 11:30 am
Where: Multicultural Hub, 506 Elizabeth Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000
Registration here
BBV Workforce Network Meeting - Women and hepatitis B: A guided conversation to think through complexity – 15 October 2019
The Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society’s BBV Sector Development Program is hosting a Community of Practice to provide an opportunity to think through the complexities of diagnosing and caring for women living with hepatitis B. This meeting brings together practitioners working within intersectional approaches to women’s health, people with lived experience and researchers to think through an ‘ethics of care’ that can guide us towards a more inclusive and equitable practice of healthcare for women living with hepatitis B. It will provide an opportunity for health and community workers to share approaches, stories, reflect on professional practices, explore cultural framings of hepatitis B and disease and systemic constraints to healthcare. This event seeks to establish a shared set of intentions for action.
Finally, the event will explore the potential unintended consequences of a focus on women living with hepatitis B. In identifying and naming gendered experiences of hepatitis B, our intention is not to simplify experiences of stigma nor participate in its production, rather, this Community of Practice will attend to the processes which can marginalise people (especially women) living with hepatitis B.
Come along and join Dr Regina Quaizon (Multicultural Centre for Women’s Health), Ambi Kaur (refugee health nurse, cohealth), Hepatitis Victoria, the Doherty Institute and others for a reflective and challenging Community of Practice that aims to explore these complexities.
When: Tuesday 15th October, 12.30 (for lunch) 1 – 4pm
Where: Level 20: Teaching room 2, La Trobe university, 360 Collins Street, Melbourne
RSVP: Emily Lenton
RSVPs are essential as we are catering for this event.
The future of enhancement: Drugs, gender and sexuality – 25 October 2019
This half-day forum of social science research and practitioner and consumer feedback will explore the nature and politics of ‘enhancement’ as it relates to drug consumption practices, gender and sexuality. The forum will include scholars working in sociology, critical drugs studies, gender, sexuality and trans studies, and health professionals and practitioners. It will present innovative research that contributes to current debates and research agendas on performance and image-enhancing drugs, pharmaceutical markets and lifestyle practices, the constitution of gendered and sexual identities and harm reduction.
The forum will also include the launch of a new report based on the findings of the Social Studies of Addiction Concepts’ ARC-funded study into men’s use of performance and image-enhancing drugs in Australia. The forum will involve a discussion of the implications of the research findings and recommendations, and will invite thoughts on how new perspectives on enhancement might inform future research and professional engagement with consumers.
Speakers include:
- Professor Suzanne Fraser (ARCSHS, La Trobe)
- Dr Dean Murphy (University of Sydney)
- Dr Kiran Pienaar (Monash University)
- Dr J. R. Latham (Deakin University)
- Dr Andrea Waling (ARCSHS, La Trobe)
- Dr Renae Fomiatti (ARCSHS, La Trobe)
- Dr Beng Eu (Prahran Market Clinic)
- Kay Stanton (Your Community Health)
- A/Professor Kate Seear (Monash University, Springvale Monash Legal Service)
When: 25 October, 1:00 pm – 5:00 pm AEDT
Where: La Trobe University City Campus, 360 Collins Street, Teaching room 2, Level 2
Melbourne, VIC
Register here now as spaces are filling up fast.
26th National Symposium on Hepatitis B and C: Saturday 23 November 2019
Bookings are now open for the 26th National Hepatitis Symposium which is organised by the Department of Gastroenterology, St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne. The symposium will provide an update on the current management of chronic hepatitis B and C and for the first time fatty liver disease. The symposium will provide lectures, panel discussions and interactive cases. It will provide general gastroenterologists, ID physicians, GPs, nurses, scientists and community advocates with state of the art knowledge of how to manage people living with chronic hepatitis B and C in primary and tertiary care settings, and how to diagnose, assess and manage people living with fatty liver disease.
When: Saturday 23 November, 8am – 3.30pm
Where: Australian Catholic University, Building 404 (off Young St), Fitzroy
Register: Info and registration
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9 Men Share What Helped Them Come Out as Bisexual
Call for participants: LGBTQI+ experiences of cancer
Help us understand LGBTQI+ experiences of cancer and cancer care. We are interested in the experiences of all LGBTQI+ people who have had cancer or medical intervention to reduce cancer risk, as well as their carers and LGBTQI+ people who have cared for someone with cancer. We will use this information to develop better information and support for LGBTQI+ people with cancer and carers. Learn more here
Call for participants – young LGBT+ people, writing and identity development
People aged 16-20 living in Melbourne metro areas and who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or queer (whether you are cisgender, transgender and/or gender-diverse) are invited to participate in a research project exploring young LGBT+ people’s writing and identity development.
For more information please email Roz Bellamy, at r.bellamy@latrobe.edu.au
To request a full text copy of an article, please email Janine at the ERC Library
Epidemiology of chronic hepatitis B and C in Victoria, Australia: insights and impacts from enhanced surveillance
Consistent high prevalence of undiagnosed blood‐borne virus infection in patients attending large urban emergency departments in England
Characterising the policy influence of peer-based drug user organisations in the context of hepatitis C elimination
Evaluation of a hepatitis C virus core antigen assay from venepuncture and dried blood spot collected samples: A cohort study
Early diagnosis and risk factors of acute hepatitis c in high-risk men who have sex with men on pre-exposure prophylaxis
Sexual behaviour as a risk factor for hepatitis C virus infection among people who inject drugs in Montreal, Canada
Experiences of diagnosis, stigma, culpability and disclosure in male patients with hepatitis C virus: An interpretative phenomenological analysis
The testing of people with any risk factor for Hepatitis C in community pharmacies is cost effective
13% of HIV-positive Europeans who are cured of hepatitis C are reinfected
Improving access to care for people who inject drugs: qualitative evaluation of Project ITTREAT, an integrated community hepatitis C service
Treatment of hepatitis C in two paediatric patients using sofosbuvir during haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
Safety and efficacy of coblopasvir and sofosbuvir in patients with genotype 1, 2, 3, and 6 HCV infections without or with compensated cirrhosis
Evaluating the population impact of hepatitis C direct acting antiviral treatment as prevention for people who inject drugs (EPIToPe) - a natural experiment (protocol).
Notes from the field: Challenges, concerns and opportunities in relationship building and health promotion among gay Asian international students in Australia
Retention in HIV Care in Australia: The Perspectives of Clinicians and Clients, and the Impact of Medical and Psychosocial Comorbidity
Perceptions of people who inject drugs towards HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in Australia
Understanding user perspectives of and preferences for oral PrEP for HIV prevention in the context of intervention scale‐up: a synthesis of evidence from sub‐Saharan Africa
CRISPR gene editing can create cells immune to HIV
High risk and low uptake of pre‐exposure prophylaxis to prevent HIV acquisition in a national online sample of transgender men who have sex with men in the United States
Categorical dilemmas: challenges for HIV prevention among men who have sex with men and transgender women in Vietnam
No overall change in the rate of weight gain after switching to an integrase-inhibitor in virologically suppressed adults with HIV
Adherence to ART: is the gold standard still needed for viral suppression?
PrEP is reducing HIV diagnoses in US cities, independently of the effect of treatment
Same-day initiation of ART feasible and safe without CD4 counts, Thai study shows
Point-of-care viral load testing results in more switches from failing treatment
Trends in chronic hepatitis B prevalence in Australian women by country of birth, 2000 to 2016
Tracking the uptake of outcomes of hepatitis B virus testing using laboratory data in Victoria, 2011–16: a population-level cohort study
Hepatitis B raises the risk of some cancers
Frequent delayed spontaneous seroclearance of hepatitis B virus after incident HBV infection among adult high‐risk groups
The Role of Hepatitis B Core-Related Antigen.
Hepatitis B core‐related antigen levels after HBeAg seroconversion is associated with the development of hepatocellular carcinoma
Ovarian HBV replication following ovulation induction in female Hepatitis B carriers undergoing IVF treatment: a prospective observational study
Predictors of HBsAg loss, relapse and retreatment after discontinuation of effective oral antiviral therapy in non‐cirrhotic HBeAg‐negative chronic hepatitis B
High tolerance of hepatitis B virus to thermal disinfection
The Role of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen in Nucleos(t)ide Analogues Cessation Among Asian Patients With Chronic Hepatitis B: A Systematic Review
Tenofovir is Associated With Lower Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Than Entecavir in Patients With Chronic HBV Infection in China
Comparing the Efficacy and Safety of Treating Chronic Hepatitis B Infection during Pregnancy with Lamivudine, Telbivudine, and Tenofovir: A Meta-analysis
Toward a functional cure for hepatitis B: the rationale and challenges for therapeutic targeting of the B cell immune response
Survey of Impediments to Prevention of Mother-to-Infant Transmission of Hepatitis B Virus by International Societies.
Prevalence of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) and Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) Co-infection among Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS).
Elevated fatty liver index as a risk factor for all‐cause mortality in HIV‐HCV co‐infected patients (ANRS CO13 HEPAVIH cohort study)
Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) Co‐infected Patients With Cirrhosis Are No Longer at Higher Risk for Hepatocellular Carcinoma or End‐Stage Liver Disease as Compared to HCV Mono‐infected Patients
Measures of harm reduction service provision for people who inject drugs
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