COPAHM E-NEWS ISSUE 12, 2020
Welcome to CoPAHM's quarterly e-News! This is your source for the latest updates regarding HIV and mobility issues. If you have something you would like to share via CoPAHM please let us know. For broader news relating to sexual health, please view the SiREN e-News or subscribe by emailing siren@curtin.edu.au.
Please get in touch at copahm@curtin.edu.au if you need assistance accessing the research.
CoPAHM Updates
CoPAHM WA. CoPAHM WA is looking for individuals who are interested in working in collaboration to identify and progress research and action on HIV and Mobility. Priority populations include international students, travellers and migrants and refugees. It has been a big year for CoPAHM WA. The year started with the establishment of the CoPAHM WA group. A strong partnership was sustained through discussions with the CoPAHM QLD and team from NSW, to share work relating to international students research. CoPAHM WA commenced a systematic review of International Student Sexual Health surveys. Lastly, the CpPAHM WA supported development of a survey for men travelling to Asia to explore knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding sexual health. We look forward to growing our network and continuing the CoPAHM in 2021. If you are interested in being involved, or know someone who might be, email copahm@curtin.edu.au.
Can Australia be the first to eliminate HIV transmission? CoPAHM is now on YouTube! You can check out the recording of our panel presentation at the ASHM Joint Sexual Health & HIV/AIDS Conference: Can Australia be the first to eliminate HIV transmission? Presented by Dr Chris Lemoh, Dr Roanna Lobo, Dr Gemma Crawford and Corie Gray. Click here to view.
International students and sexual health – where is the evidence? The CoPAHM hosted a special event webinar on the topic of international students and sexual health. Findings and learnings from recent Australian work in this space was presented, with a focus on where to next. Click here to view the webinar recording.
Getting the right message: a content analysis and application of the health literacy INDEX tool to online HIV resources in Australia. CoPAHM team members have recently published an article analysing current HIV resources (n=66). The authors found that resources required a reading grade above grade 8, and very few resources considered audience appropriateness. There were missed opportunities to encourage HIV prevention or testing. Guidelines for developing HIV prevention resources are warranted to improve health literacy, accessibility and appropriateness of resources and ensure consistent messages and framing of HIV risk. Read the article here.
In the News
World AIDS Day. Each year on December 1st, we commemorate World AIDS Day showing our support for those living with and affected by HIV, and remembering those who lost their lives to AIDS. This year the UNAIDS theme is “Global solidarity, shared responsibility". A number of events were held including the Burnet Institute Community Forum, with a focus on Culturally and Linguistically Diverse communities impacted by HIV (which you can view here).
Migrant Blood-borne Virus and Sexual Health Survey. The MIBSS study aims to develop a greater understanding of how migrants living in Australia think and act on the subjects of sexually transmitted infections and blood-borne viruses. If you were born in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia and you are currently living in Western Australia, South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria or Queensland you can participate in the survey. The survey is available at this link.
New Journal of Migration and Health. The Journal of Migration and Health (JMH) is a new open access journal publishing research, reviews, and other publication forms on any topics relevant to migration and health. The journal aims to be geographically diverse and adopt a multidisciplinary approach welcoming papers on international migration. Submissions to the Journal are now open, and the Article Publishing Charge will be waived for all articles submitted up to December 31, 2020, which are accepted for publication after peer review. Click here for more info.
Dried Blood Spot Test. The Dried Blood Spot (DBS) Test is an innovative pilot program offered in partnership between the NSW Ministry of Health, St Vincent’s Hospital and Sexual Health InfoLink that offers an easy, self-sampling option for anyone wishing to have a HIV or Hep C test. As a simple finger-prick blood collection, the DBS is particularly useful for clients who may not get tested regularly or who experience barriers to conventional testing. The website has been translated into 8 community languages to make it more accessible to CALD communities: Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Thai, Vietnamese, French, Chinese and Bahasa Indonesian. For more info on the campaign click here.
Translated HIV and other STI Resources. The Ethnic Communities Council of QLD (ECCQ) has developed translated resources to assist community members learning on the topics of HIV and other STIs into Chinese, Vietnamese, Arabic, Korean and Dari languages which you can access here. You can also access a hepatitis video “Save lives – have a liver test” in 13 languages: English, Arabic, Burmese, Cantonese, Dari, Dinka, French, Juba Arabic, Karen, Kinyarwanda, Swahili and Vietnamese here.
PrEP at Sexual Health Quarters. Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is now available at Sexual Health Quarters in Northbridge. Click here to find out more about this service, and for more on HIV and sexual health services in WA.
Shine SA Training. Looking for ways to upskill your practice? SHINE SA have a number of free webinars, podcasts and training modules which you can view here. Our first pick is Post Exposure Prophylaxis for HIV: An overview for health professionals, a module designed to increase your understanding of PEP and vital HIV prevention measures.
Youth Sexual Health Survey. The Sexual Health and Blood-born Virus Applied Evaluation and Research Network are conducting an online survey of young Western Australians to investigate their experiences of sexual health testing, diagnosis and treatment; the factors that influence their testing practices; and methods used to protect themselves against STIs and BBVs. Please encourage those you know who are aged 16 to 25 years old and who currently live in Western Australia to participate. The survey can be accessed through this link. All participants go into the draw to win 1 of 20 $50 gift cards.
CERIPH is now on Facebook. The Collaboration for Evidence, Research, and Impact in Public Health (CERIPH) is a multi-disciplinary research centre within the School of Public Health, Curtin University. Follow the CERIPH Facebook page to keep up to date with the latest news, events, research opportunities and more by clicking here.
Reports
HIV Surveillance Report. Kirby Institute. The National HIV Quarterly Report - Q4 2019 has been released. This report provides a quarterly summary of the numbers of newly diagnosed HIV cases notified to state and territory health departments and recorded in the National HIV Registry. Click here to view the report.
HIV Health Literacy Framework Project: Year One Summary Report. National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA). The HIV Health Literacy Framework (HLF) Project focuses on the role that health literacy can play when working to improve HIV-related health care and quality of life outcomes for all people living with HIV. This report provides a summary of the framework and the first phase, where women living with HIV were the primary focus. Upon completion. the findings will help increase HIV health literacy among individuals and communities.
World AIDS Day Parliamentary Report. Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations. This report compliments the World AIDS Day Parliamentary Breakfast held annually in Parliament house, Canberra. This year, the event took place online, and a recording can be accessed here. The report highlights the support of key HIV organisations and parliamentarians across Australia. The Health Minister, the Hon. Greg Hunt MP, announced that every person living in Australia with HIV can now access life saving antiretroviral medicine, regardless of Medicare eligibility. Read the media release here.
If We Don't Count...It Doesn't Count! Federation of Ethnic Communities' Councils of Australia (FECCA). Current Australian data collection and reporting on cultural, ethnic and linguistic diversity, particularly in relation to human services planning and delivery, is inadequate. In this report, FECCA makes key recommendations that build on the National Standards for Statistics on Cultural and Language Diversity, 1999, that will ensure consistent, complete and useful practice.
My health, our family: documenting stories of family life in the context of HIV, hepatitis B or hepatitis C. The University of New South Wales Centre for Social Research in Health in partnership with the Burnet Institute have released a summary report for the project: Critical perspectives on serodiscordance in family life. This project explores the role of families in the response to blood borne viruses, recognising that families play a critical role in supporting those who have been diagnosed. Read the report here.
Going somewhere? Don't bring HIV home from your holiday. Going Somewhere? is an awareness campaign by the Department of Health Sexual Health and Blood-borne Virus Program, to raise awareness of the risk of acquiring HIV when having unprotected sex overseas and importance of testing and treatment. The campaign aimed to that address the increasing HIV notifications in heterosexual, middle-aged men increasing in Western Australia that were acquired overseas. A post-evaluation report has been released, which you can view here.
Addressing Stigma and Discrimination in the COVID-19 Response. UNAIDS. Drawing on 40 years of experience from the AIDS response, UNAIDS has issued new guidance on reducing stigma and discrimination in the context of COVID-19. The guidance is based on the latest evidence on what works to reduce HIV-related stigma and discrimination and applies it to the COVID-19 response.
Research
Phylogenetic clustering networks among heterosexual migrants with new HIV diagnoses post-migration in Australia. The study investigated the characteristics of phylogenetic clusters of HIV among heterosexual migrants by examining partial HIV pol sequences obtained from routine clinical genotype tests. The study found that migrants appear to be at elevated risk of HIV acquisition, in part due to intimate relationships between migrants from the same country of origin, and in part due to risks associated with the broader Australian HIV epidemic. However, there was no evidence of large transmission clusters driven by heterosexual transmission between migrants. A multipronged approach to prevention of HIV among migrants is recommended. Access the study here.
Barriers and facilitators associated with steps of the HIV care cascade for migrants in OECD countries: a systematic mixed studies review protocol. The purpose of this study is to generate a comprehensive, multilevel understanding of barriers and facilitators in the five steps of the HIV Care Cascade Continuum model in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries by migration status. This paper is the protocol which outlines the process for the investigation. Access the article here.
The differential impacts of non-locally acquired infections and treatment interventions on heterosexual HIV transmission in Hong Kong. The study sought to explain the transmission pattern of heterosexual HIV infections. The researchers analysed clinical and surveillance data (1984–2014) in Hong Kong to determine whether human mobility and non-local infections were linked with HIV transmission. It was found that enhanced HIV testing with immediate treatment is most effective in controlling the heterosexual epidemic, the impacts of which might however be attenuated by any increase of non-locally acquired infection, assuming little variations of high risk partnership over time. Access the study here.
Immigrant Generational Differences in Social Support and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Seattle, Washington. The study explored relationships between immigrant generational status, social support, and sexual risk behaviours among men who have sex with men (MSM) using data from surveys conducted in Seattle, Washington, in 2014. Sexual risk behaviours and social support of first-generation, second-generation, and third- and higher-generation MSM were compared. Second-generation MSM reported lower friend social support than first- or third- and higher-generation MSM. However, immigrant generational status was not associated with sexual risk behaviour outcomes, even after accounting for social support. Results suggest that differences in immigration processes such as acculturation may be more predictive of risk behaviours than generational status alone. Access the study here.
The Role of Neighborhood Poverty in the Association between Foreign-Born status and HIV Care Continuum Outcomes in Alameda County, California. The study examined whether the association between immigrant status and the four outcomes on the HIV care cascade (late diagnosis, linkage to care within 30 days of diagnosis, retention in HIV care, and viral load status a year after diagnosis) differed by poverty level. Using HIV surveillance data in California, it was found that foreign-born status was significantly associated with late HIV diagnosis but not with linkage, retention in care, and achievement of undetectable viral load a year after diagnosis. Neighbourhood poverty modified the association between immigrant status and retention in care, but not late diagnosis, linkage or viral load status. The findings suggest that neighbourhood resources may buffer against disparities in retention. Access the study here.
Geographic Mobility, Place Attachment, and the Changing Geography of Sex among African American and Latinx MSM Who Use Substances in Los Angeles, California. Spatial contexts and spatial mobility are important factors of the HIV epidemic and sexually transmitted infections. Using GPS devices, the study examined the associations of objectively measured spatial mobility with sexual risk behaviours among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men in New York City. The results demonstrated that spatial mobility was positively associated with sexual risk behaviours, and may enhance the understanding of spatial contexts of HIV risk. Future studies should be conducted to examine the mechanisms for the associations between spatial mobility behaviours with sexual risk behaviours as well as the influence of neighbourhood characteristics in various neighbourhood contexts, which may guide the place-based HIV prevention services. Access the study here.