WORKSHOP
Brook Biggin (CBRC), Chris Draenos (CBRC), Abbey Ferguson (Halifax Sexual Health Centre), Jess Murray (Queer and Trans Health Collective), Nikki Baldwin (Planned Parenthood, NL Sexual Health Centre)
In 2021, CBRC partnered with approximately 20 community-based organizations across Canada to distribute 873 HIV self-testing (HIVST) kits to 2S/LGBTQIA+ people through the project, Test Now: Community Edition. With support and guidance from CBRC’s research team, utilizing an implementation science approach, quantitative and qualitative data was collected and analyzed to determine the effectiveness and feasibility of HIVST kit distribution through community-based organizations. During this session, CBRC research and programming team representatives will share an overview of key project learnings, including who the project reached, which distribution models proved most effective (i.e., event-based, intensive outreach, mail-out), key barriers to and facilitators of successful HIVST kit distribution, and recommendations for future community-based HIVST kit distribution initiatives. In addition to data shared by CBRC, representatives from delivery partner organizations across Canada will share how they integrated HIVST distribution into their existing programming, key challenges and successes they experienced, acceptability and interest demonstrated by the communities they serve, and recommendations they’d make to other organizations interested in implementing this important work. By sharing a range of data from a variety of vantage points, we believe this session will include key learnings that will resonate with a variety of Summit target audiences including community members, community-based organizations, researchers, and policymakers.
