World AIDS Day / en Public health researchers at 老司机直播 launch first Canadian study on couples with different HIV statuses /news/public-health-researchers-u-t-launch-first-canadian-study-couples-different-hiv-statuses <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Public health researchers at 老司机直播 launch first Canadian study on couples with different HIV statuses</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-30-world-aids-day-lead.jpg?h=3ebe9e72&amp;itok=AgX49ms3 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-11-30-world-aids-day-lead.jpg?h=3ebe9e72&amp;itok=mSJTSSC5 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-11-30-world-aids-day-lead.jpg?h=3ebe9e72&amp;itok=a_J8GF0d 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-30-world-aids-day-lead.jpg?h=3ebe9e72&amp;itok=AgX49ms3" alt="Photo of red ribbon for World AIDS Day"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-11-30T13:30:15-05:00" title="Wednesday, November 30, 2016 - 13:30" class="datetime">Wed, 11/30/2016 - 13:30</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Red ribbon for World AIDS Day (photo by Trinn Suwannapha/World Bank via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/nicole-bodnar" hreflang="en">Nicole Bodnar</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Nicole Bodnar</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/breaking-research" hreflang="en">Breaking Research</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/aids" hreflang="en">AIDS</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/world-aids-day" hreflang="en">World AIDS Day</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/public-health" hreflang="en">Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/dalla-lana-school-public-health" hreflang="en">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/international" hreflang="en">International</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Tomorrow is World AIDS Day, and this year鈥檚 theme is<a href="http://www.worldaidsdayuoft.com/about"> Disclosure: HIV/AIDS in the 21st Century</a>.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2703 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-11-30-t%20and%20v-colour-embed.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 191px; margin: 10px; float: left;" typeof="foaf:Image">This theme is particularly relevant for Thom and Vajdon (pictured left), who have been together for 17 years and are in what scientists call a serodiscordant relationship 鈥&nbsp;where one partner is HIV-positive and the other is HIV-negative.</p> <p>鈥淭here are a lot of us out here, living full and loving lives. Sticking by each other no matter what,鈥 said Thom (on the left side of the photo), a writer, actor and educator who is HIV-positive and lives in Toronto with his partner Vajdon (on the right side of the photo), who is a PhD student.<br> &nbsp;<br> This summer, 老司机直播鈥檚 <a href="http://www.dlsph.utoronto.ca/">Dalla Lana School of Public Health</a> launched <a href="http://www.positiveplusone.ca/">Positive Plus One</a>, the first Canadian study&nbsp;about HIV-serodiscordant relationships. These relationships&nbsp;are increasingly common, since people with HIV are living longer lives and have more opportunity for longer relationships.</p> <p>Thom will be featured with <strong>Liviana Calzavara</strong>, a professor at Dalla Lana, who launched Positive Plus One, tomorrow on <a href="http://www.ctv.ca/YourMorning">CTV's "Your Morning"</a> for&nbsp;World AIDS Day and then at 5:15 p.m. on&nbsp;<a href="http://www.cbc.ca/hereandnowtoronto/">CBC Radio's "Here &amp; Now."</a></p> <p>Positive Plus One&nbsp;brings together a diverse team of community members, AIDS service organizations and clinicians. Researchers say they hope the&nbsp;results will inform health-care professionals, service providers, policy-makers and&nbsp;those living in HIV-serodiscordant relationships about&nbsp;how to improve&nbsp;knowledge and services for HIV-positive people and their HIV-negative partners. &nbsp;</p> <p>According to the Ontario HIV Treatment Network Cohort Study, 23 per cent of HIV-positive people reported an HIV-negative regular partner.&nbsp;People in HIV-serodiscordant relationships face many unique challenges, including stigma and the risk of transmission between partners, but scientists, policy-makers and service providers know relatively little about how these factors affect people.<br> &nbsp;<br> For the study to be successful, researchers say, they must hear the voices of both partners to get the perspectives of both HIV-positive and HIV-negative persons. They're looking for couples from&nbsp;different backgrounds&nbsp;鈥&nbsp;of all genders, ethnicities, sexual identities and regions of the country.&nbsp;<br> &nbsp;<br> Thom and Vajdon say they&nbsp;hope the study will help to reduce stigma through awareness and education.</p> <p>鈥淲hile the consequences of stigma are better known for positive people, their negative partners are deeply affected, too,鈥 said Vajdon. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to highlight the experiences of negative partners, and ensure that HIV support programs and policies take their needs into account.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__2709 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/2016-11-30-liviana-calvazara_0.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 191px; margin: 10px; float: right;" typeof="foaf:Image">Calzavara (pictured right) is an HIV/AIDS research pioneer. She oversaw the Toronto Sexual Contact Study, the first cohort study to examine the natural history of HIV infection and the role of sexual risk behaviours. She also co-developed and co-taught the first HIV/AIDS course offered at 老司机直播.&nbsp;</p> <p>Together with a number of HIV/AIDS researchers at Dalla Lana&nbsp;including Professor Emeritus&nbsp;<strong>Ted Myers</strong> and Assistant Professor <strong>Dan Allman</strong>, Calzavara has led significant international research into the behavioural determinants of HIV transmission among men who have sex with men.&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 30 Nov 2016 18:30:15 +0000 ullahnor 102598 at