Grant: Partnerships for Health System Improvement (PHSI)

The number of people who get a sexually transmitted infection or HIV in Canada continues to increase despite the efforts of public health efforts to prevent the spread of these infections. Many people who are infected with a sexually transmitted infection or HIV do not get tested right away, for a variety of reasons, including stigma or being unable to access testing services. We need to find new and innovative ways to improve these trends. We are living in the internet age and health services over the internet are acceptable and have the potential to reach many people and break down barriers to accessing services. This study will evaluate a program that allows people to get tested for sexually transmitted infections and HIV through the internet, called iTEST, to see what impact this program has on the health of people and on the Canadian health care system. This study will be focused on the first phase of iTEST, which will be focused on Vancouver, and the results of this study will be used to expand iTEST so that it is offered at more places in the province of British Columbia.