CATIE News

This update will provide information on CATIE’s enhanced role as HIV/AIDS Knowledge Exchange Broker to support front-line organizations in the prevention, care, treatment, and support for people living with or at risk of contracting HIV/AIDS. This is one of a series of regular updates that will be provided as we progress toward our goal of bringing individuals and organizations together in an integrated, pan-Canadian network for excellence in HIV/AIDS knowledge exchange (KE).

Recent progress toward our new role as KE Broker

For the past several months, CATIE has been actively planning how we will shift from our traditional role of “community expert” in HIV/AIDS treatment information to knowledge exchange broker for the continuum of HIV/AIDS information services. We have embarked on an extensive consultation process with national, regional and front-line HIV/AIDS organizations to identify needs, gaps, priorities, best practices and possible partnership models for KE and have initiated a planning process to develop a new strategic plan for CATIE by October 2008. These consultations, as well as those planned by the HIV/AIDS Division of the Public Health Agency of Canada, will ultimately culminate in a national strategic plan for HIV/AIDS knowledge exchange. We have also been planning for the transfer of HIV/AIDS information services from the Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre (CHIC) to CATIE by April 1, 2008.

Transfer of Canadian HIV/AIDS Information Centre Services to CATIE

The transfer of HIV/AIDS information services from CHIC to CATIE will be an important first step toward creating a national model of HIV/AIDS knowledge exchange by combining CHIC’s information services in prevention and CATIE’s treatment information exchange services, and building on existing HIV/AIDS networks across the country. In addition, our goal is to develop effective working relationships with stakeholders and deliver high quality knowledge exchange services in prevention just as we have been doing for treatment information over the past 18 years.  As always, people living with or vulnerable to HIV/AIDS will be central to all of our services and activities.

One of CATIE’s most important priorities for the transfer is to avoid short-term disruptions in services to individuals, community-based organizations, health and educational professionals, resource centres and others that have been served by CHIC since 1989. To this end, we are working hard to ensure that processes, resources and systems are in place to provide the following services in both English and French on or before April 1st:

• Collection of HIV/AIDS educational materials
• Electronic download of HIV/AIDS materials
• On-line ordering of HIV/AIDS materials
• Distribution of hard copy HIV/AIDS materials
• 1-800 HIV/AIDS information services for front-line service providers and other individuals
• Library services

If you have any questions or concerns about how the transfer of services may affect you or you would like to receive our newsletters and bulletins or become a member of CATIE, please contact Jim Pollock by email: jpollock@catie.ca or phone: 1-800-263-1638 x268.

Consultations for the national partnership model for HIV/AIDS Knowledge Exchange

Over the next six months, we will be continuing our consultations with national, regional and front-line HIV/AIDS organizations and other key stakeholders on CATIE’s role as Knowledge Exchange Broker and the eventual development of a Network for HIV/AIDS Knowledge Exchange. A plan for consultations with the HIV/AIDS Aboriginal community will be developed through the Aboriginal Committee of CATIE’s Board of Directors and carried out over this same timeframe. Our currently scheduled consultations are as follows: 

Your input and is invaluable to us in the process - we are developing an on-line questionnaire survey that will be available on our Web site in the near future. Stay tuned!