Musten Alexandra, O'Byrne Patrick
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON.
Can Commun Dis Rep. 2024 Dec 5;50(12):436-446. doi: 10.14745/ccdr.v50i12da04. eCollection 2024 Dec.
In Canada, HIV transmission continues to disproportionately affect the same communities of gay men, bisexual men and men who have sex with men (gbMSM); members of African, Caribbean or Black communities (ACB); people who use injection drugs; Indigenous people; and women who belong to the aforementioned groups. While primary care is an ideal location for HIV testing for members of these groups, many people do not have access to such healthcare services. In response, we launched GetaKit to distribute HIV self-tests.
In light of reduced access to healthcare services as a result of the pandemic and in anticipation of Health Canada's approval of an HIV self-test, a clinician-scientist research team at the University of Ottawa developed GetaKit: an online platform to provide access to sexual health services. When GetaKit first launched in Ottawa in July 2020 with funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health, its objectives were to ensure that access to the newly approved device remained 1) clinically appropriate, 2) accessible and 3) linked to care.
Over the course of the study, there were a stable number of individuals who reported having never been tested for HIV before. These individuals tended to be younger and more likely to be members of racialized minority groups; similar characteristics to those who also face the most barriers to primary care access.
With new reports indicating that nearly six million Canadians are without a primary care provider, it was proposed that the popularity of the HIV self-test may tell more about this lack of access than about the utility of the device itself. While projects like GetaKit should be part of the broader strategy to overcome historic testing barriers, such as geographic distance and inconvenient clinic hours, it is important that this occurs in an environment where a strong primary care health system can support treatment, follow-up and specialist referrals, as required.
在加拿大，艾滋病毒传播继续对男同性恋者、双性恋者和与男性发生性关系的男性（gbMSM）、非洲、加勒比或黑人社区（ACB）成员、注射吸毒者、原住民以及属于上述群体的女性等相同社区造成不成比例的影响。虽然初级保健是这些群体成员进行艾滋病毒检测的理想场所，但许多人无法获得此类医疗服务。作为回应，我们推出了GetaKit来分发艾滋病毒自检试剂盒。
鉴于疫情导致获得医疗服务的机会减少，并预期加拿大卫生部会批准艾滋病毒自检试剂盒，渥太华大学的一个临床医生 - 科学家研究团队开发了GetaKit：一个提供性健康服务的在线平台。2020年7月，GetaKit在安大略省卫生部的资助下首次在渥太华推出，其目标是确保对新批准的设备的获取保持1）临床适用，2）可及，3）与护理相联系。
在研究过程中，报告从未接受过艾滋病毒检测的个体数量稳定。这些个体往往更年轻，更有可能是少数族裔群体成员；这些特征与那些在获得初级保健方面也面临最大障碍的人相似。
新的报告表明近600万加拿大人没有初级保健提供者，有人提出艾滋病毒自检试剂盒的普及可能更多地说明缺乏医疗服务，而不是该设备本身的效用。虽然像GetaKit这样的项目应该成为克服历史检测障碍（如地理距离和诊所营业时间不便）的更广泛战略的一部分，但重要的是，这要在一个强大的初级保健卫生系统能够根据需要支持治疗、随访和专科转诊的环境中进行。
