BackgRound: The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is delivered widely through school-based immunization programs. Some groups have expressed concern that HPV vaccination programs will result in an increase in sexual risktaking behaviours among adolescents. We aimed to evaluate population-level changes in sexual behaviours before and after implementation of the schoolbased HPV vaccination program in British Columbia. MetHods: In 2008, a school-based HPV vaccination program for girls was introduced in British Columbia. Using data from the BC
OBJECTIVES:The objective of the Immediate Staging Pilot Project (ISPP) was to improve linkage to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care by increasing the number of referrals made to HIV care, and to decrease the time between diagnosis and linkage to care for newly diagnosed HIV clients. This pilot had the potential to decrease HIV transmission at a population level by engaging clients in treatment earlier. OUTCOMES: Comparing linkage to care outcomes between a group that received the standard of care (SOC) and an intervention group that received immediate staging, the median linkage to care time decreased from 21.5 to 14.0 days respectively (p = 0.053). The referral rates to HIV care were 56.1% in the SOC group and 94.1% in the intervention group (p < 0.001).
CONCLUSION:Creating best practices that include offering CD4 and viral load testing at the time of diagnosis, enhanced nursing support and standardized referral processes has facilitated an improvement in the quality of HIV services provided to MSM clients attending low-threshold clinics.KEY WORDS: Linkage to care; continuum of care; HIV; men who have sex with men; low-threshold sites; outcome assessment (health care) La traduction du résumé se trouve à la fin de l'article.
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