Hands at a laptop, a note book, cup of pens, clipboard with application form, a pair of black glasses and a booklet all on a bright red background

HIV Endgame Program Results

The OHTN is pleased to announce the results of its 2023-2024 HIV Endgame Funding Program competition!

This funding program supports people and projects that have the potential to:

  • meet the needs of populations in Ontario most affected by HIV
  • drive changes in policy and practice across the HIV prevention, engagement, and care cascade
  • lead to more integrated health and social services
  • identify effective ways to address the social determinants that have a negative impact on the health of communities most affected by HIV
  • contribute to a rapid learning HIV health and social system


Community-Based Project and Participatory Evaluation Award

Gab Laurence, Director, Harm Reduction Services at Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre

Narrating Against Stigma with Safer Supply Clients Using Cellphilm

This project aims to understand and reduce stigma through participatory analysis and evaluation of safer supply and harm reduction programming with the involvement of PWUD and staff at a community health center and AIDS service organization. Participants will create short videos on their cellphones, known as cellphilms, to explore how safer supply has enabled PWUD to re-engage with the healthcare system. The participants will challenge HIV, drug use, and harm reduction stigma. The data collected will be used to develop and inform safer supply programming along the key stages of the HIV prevention and treatment cascade.


Breaking New Ground

Colin Kovacs, Physician at Maple Leaf Medical Clinic

Short-Term Addition of Efavirenz to Induce CARD8-Mediated Reduction to Persistent Non-Suppressible HIV-1 Viremia in People with High Adherence to ART

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the short-term addition of the antiretroviral medication called Efavirenz (EFV) in patients who still have detectable levels of HIV-1 RNA in their blood (known as persistent non-suppressible viremia or NSV) despite adherence to antiretroviral treatment. The goal is to reduce the viral load of patients by the end of the trial period. The study seeks to investigate the effects of EFV on markers of HIV persistence, inflammation and immune activation, and resistance to immune-mediated cell killing. The results from this pilot study will inform the design of larger studies investigating the use of other similar medications (NNRTIs) to accelerate reservoir decay, reduce spontaneous HIV transcription, and moderate systemic inflammation.

Michaeline McGuinty, Infectious Disease Clinician Scientist at the University of Ottawa and the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

MILK: Microbial and Antiretroviral Lactation Kinetics Study: A Multi-Center Prospective Observational Cohort Mixed Method Study

This pilot study aims to assess the feasibility of conducting a long-term prospective cohort study among people with HIV who breastfeed and their infants to explore the decision to breastfeed, the breastfeeding experience including viral dynamics, antiretroviral penetration, and the impacts of current recommendations on clinical care. The study will assess the feasibility and resource requirements of a breastfeeding registry that will be adaptable to a variety of contexts to systematically capture clinical outcomes among women who breastfeed in high resource contexts. The pilot study will inform future intervention trials and provide informed, patient-centered knowledge translation tools.

Kristina Kokorelias, Senior Academic Program Coordinator, Healthy Ageing and Geriatrics Program at Sinai Health

Implementing a Novel Geriatric-HIV Clinic in Toronto, Ontario

The objective of this study is to co-design a sustainable and scalable model of culturally appropriate geriatric HIV care. This study aims to reach a consensus on what defines “complex care needs”, to improve how geriatricians can meet the specific needs of patients through culturally appropriate care, and to identify implementation considerations that meet geriatric-HIV patients’ needs within the existing healthcare system. This will be achieved by convening a working group of key stakeholders (seniors, caregivers, and providers), researching to examine care experiences, designing strategies to improve existing care models and creating an implementation strategy for an advanced geriatric HIV clinic. The intended impact of this research is to develop testable models of geriatric HIV care for seniors with complex needs.

WordPress Image Lightbox Plugin