Just Medicine 21. Equitable HIV Care in Urban Populations
Aug 15, 2024
Dr. Mary Kessler, an infectious diseases specialist with extensive expertise in HIV and TB, discusses the challenges of providing equitable HIV care in urban populations. She explores the intersection of HIV treatment with social determinants like poverty and stigma, and highlights harm reduction approaches. Kessler emphasizes the unique hurdles women face, as well as the importance of trauma-informed care. Her passionate insights on the evolution of HIV treatment and strategies to combat stigma make for a thought-provoking conversation.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Social Determinants Drive HIV Outcomes
- Social determinants like poverty, food insecurity, transport, language, and childcare strongly shape HIV risk and treatment access.
- These barriers make adherence and clinic attendance difficult, explaining why structural supports matter as much as medication.
Local Epidemiology And Treatment-As-Prevention
- In BC the HIV epidemic concentrates in men who have sex with men, while injection-drug-related transmission has declined due to harm reduction.
- High rates of diagnosis and viral suppression in the population drive treatment-as-prevention gains.
Harm Reduction And PrEP Use
- Provide sterile supplies and robust treatment access for people who inject drugs to prevent HIV transmission.
- Offer daily PrEP (Truvada) to high-risk sexual contacts like men who have sex with men to reduce acquisition risk.