The Vancouver STOP Project
Between 2010 and 2013, British Columbia’s Ministry of Health Services funded a comprehensive pilot project in Vancouver and Prince George to expand HIV testing, diagnosis, treatment, and care and support, known as the Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention (STOP) HIV/AIDS Project. As a result of the success of the pilot, the STOP HIV/AIDS Project has become a permanent province-wide program.
In Vancouver, the initiative was led by Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care and was known as the Vancouver STOP Project. A significant part of what STOP did in Vancouver is captured in a series of case studies available in CATIE’s Programming Connection.
In addition to the case studies, CATIE also offers
- Shifting the Paradigm: the History of the Vancouver STOP Project: a report documenting the planning and implementation of the Vancouver STOP Project;
- Executive Summary - Shifting the Paradigm: the History of the Vancouver STOP Project
- videos highlighting key issues and lessons learned;
- a community-led evaluation that examines the provincial impact of the STOP HIV/AIDS Project on ASOs and CBOs.
What is the STOP HIV/AIDS Project?
Seek and Treat for Optimal Prevention of HIV/AIDS (STOP) was a $48 million, four-year (2010-2013) pilot project funded by the government of British Columbia. This project aimed to increase the quality of life of people living with HIV and reduce the number of new HIV infections by taking a proactive public health approach to finding people living with HIV, linking them to HIV care and treatment programs, and supporting them to stay in care. STOP aimed to improve the experience of people living with HIV or AIDS in every health and social service interaction and significantly improve linkage and engagement across the full continuum of services in HIV prevention, testing and diagnosis, treatment, and care and support.
STOP was rolled out in Vancouver and Prince George. It was made up of numerous interconnected and discrete clinic-based, hospital-based, community-based and policy-focused programs implemented through the collaboration of a significant number of stakeholders. In Vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health and Providence Health Care partnered to form the Vancouver Project. Through this partnership, these two organizations shared governance, funding and reporting for most of the initiatives that took place in Vancouver between 2011 and 2013.
Case Studies
Bathhouse and “Know On The Go” Mobile HIV Testing Projects
Program element
Two programs that provide sexual health services to gay men and other men who have sex with men who might not otherwise access theses services.
HIV Screening in Dental Clinics
Case study
Three Vancouver dental clinics introduce rapid HIV screening in their practices.
Case study
A comprehensive HIV primary care clinic designed to provide low-barrier health and psychosocial support to people experiencing intersecting barriers to healthcare.
It’s Different Now and Change HIVstory: A Social Marketing Campaign
Case study
A city-wide social marketing campaign that used the latest science to spark a public conversation about the new reality of HIV in Vancouver.
Maximally Assisted Therapy (MAT) Program
Case study
An intensive HIV treatment access and adherence support program designed to be a one-stop health resource for people living with HIV experiencing significant and concurrent barriers to care.
Offering HIV Testing Routinely in Family Practice
Case study
A program to train and support family physicians to routinely offer HIV testing to all their patients.
Case study
A peer-based program that offered low-barrier HIV testing and connection to care through street fairs and in community organizations
Case study
A clinic and outreach service that trains people living with HIV to help HIV-positive clients develop the ability to better manage their own health and care.
RainCity Housing and Coast Mental Health Housing Initiatives
Program element
Three innovative strategies to address urgent housing needs: a housing stabilization program; subsidized independent living subsidies; and access to units in a supported housing building.
Routine HIV Testing in Acute Care
Case study
An HIV testing initiative that introduces the routine offer of HIV testing to people in Vancouver hospitals
Case study
An interdisciplinary clinical team charged with improving HIV testing, engagement, linkage to and retention in HIV care for people who face some of the most challenging barriers to healthcare.
TAHAH: Towards Aboriginal Health and Healing Program
Case study
An HIV treatment, care and support initiative that aims to support clients’ stability and improve their overall health through clinical and outreach work.
Case study
A Vancouver STOP Project initiative that increases the number of sites that routinely offer HIV testing to people disproportionately affected by HIV.