Grant: Project Grant

After years of gradual decline, new HIV diagnoses rose by 66% between 2021 and 2023 in Canada. During this time, Canada experienced rapid population growth. In Québec, new HIV diagnoses increased by 37% between 2019 and 2022 overall, with an 85% increase witnessed among people born outside of Canada. People migrating to Canada -including immigrants, refugees, asylum seekers, temporary residents, and people without status- may face a higher risk of acquiring HIV and other sexually-transmitted and blood-borne infections (STBBI) due to structural barriers like limited healthcare access, insecure residency status, racism, and stigma. Those who arrive already living with HIV may face barriers to care and treatment. This could impact their ability to reach and remain virally suppressed and contribute to onward HIV transmission within migrant communities. Our project will use 1) innovative surveys to understand HIV/STBBI acquisition and transmission risks, and structural barriers affecting migrant individuals in Québec, 2) analyze provincial HIV surveillance data to estimate how many people diagnosed in Québec likely acquired HIV after migrating, 3) leverage state-of-the-art mathematical models of HIV transmission to project the population-level impact and cost-effectiveness of prevention and treatment interventions, and 4) evaluate the impact of a novel evidence-based intervention to improve HIV care and HIV/STBBI prevention services.