Syphilis Point of Care Rapid Test and Immediate Treatment Evaluation (SPRITE) study: a mixed-methods implementation science research protocol of eight public health units in Ontario, Canada.

Introduction: Urgent, tailored and equitable action is needed to address the alarming rise in syphilis rates in Canada. In the last decade, the rates of infectious syphilis have increased by 345% in Ontario, Canada. Underserved populations-people who use drugs, un(der)housed individuals and those living in rural and remote areas-face unique social and healthcare challenges that increase their vulnerability to syphilis infections and hinder their access to timely diagnosis and treatment.

Improving the quality of self-collected swab specimens for the detection of Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in a clinical setting.

Background: The practice of patient self-collected swab specimens for Neisseria gonorrhoeae and Chlamydia trachomatis is supported in the literature.

Local Problem: Health care providers observed that patients sometimes performed their self-swabs incorrectly resulting in cancelled or invalid specimens.

Methods: The clinic's outdated visual aids were replaced with new visual aids.

Popularity of HIV self-tests may say more about the state of our primary care system than about the device itself.

Background: In Canada, HIV transmission continues to disproportionately affect the same communities of gay men, bisexual men and men who have sex with men (gbMSM); members of African, Caribbean or Black communities (ACB); people who use injection drugs; Indigenous people; and women who belong to the aforementioned groups. While primary care is an ideal location for HIV testing for members of these groups, many people do not have access to such healthcare services. In response, we launched GetaKit to distribute HIV self-tests.

Popularity of HIV self-tests may say more about the state of our primary care system than about the device itself.

Background: In Canada, HIV transmission continues to disproportionately affect the same communities of gay men, bisexual men and men who have sex with men (gbMSM); members of African, Caribbean or Black communities (ACB); people who use injection drugs; Indigenous people; and women who belong to the aforementioned groups. While primary care is an ideal location for HIV testing for members of these groups, many people do not have access to such healthcare services. In response, we launched GetaKit to distribute HIV self-tests.

Use of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis among men who have sex with men: low uptake and retention despite high-risk indications.

HIV PrEP is over 99% effective in preventing HIV when medication adherence is high. Despite this, uptake and retention in PrEP care remains less than optimal. We investigated whether gbMSM with objective risk factors for HIV who were automatically offered PrEP would have higher uptake and retention in PrEP care.