Resources

A positive HIV antibody test is scary news but it’s not a death sentence. Many people with HIV are living healthy lives. A positive test result is an important medical message that may save or extend your life. Whether you took the test or not, sooner or later you would have learned of your HIV infection status. If you learn by testing, you have a chance to slow or prevent some of the possible medical consequences. If you didn’t get tested, HIV would have announced itself at some point in the form of an infection or damage to your immune system. But if you waited for HIV to announce itself, many of your best medical options may already be lost.

Most testing services provide counseling to help people handle the news. The real work, however, is up to you. Given the right attitude and the right information, HIV infection can be managed like any other chronic illness, one which some people seem able to survive for decades. Getting informed and taking charge of your health is the first step towards managing your HIV status.

The decision to get an HIV test is up to you. Having unprotected sex does not automatically put you at risk for HIV infection. Several factors have to occur for you to possibly contract HIV. See the HIV transmission section of the site.

For a list of HIV testing sites in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent visit the Testing Locations section of the site. The locations listed are just a few of the many places in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent where you can receive a free HIV test. You can also speak with your health care practitioner, or go to the closest medical clinic in their community.

HIV viral load is the amount of HIV (or number of virus) in the bodily fluids of someone living with HIV. It is measured in the blood as part of routine clinical care. A higher viral load is associated with a higher risk of HIV transmission. Research shows that successful HIV treatment can reduce the viral load to “undetectable” levels and this can significantly reduce the risk of HIV transmission.¹

¹ _{CATIE. “HIV viral load, HIV treatment and sexual HIV transmission”}

Before taking treatment, most commonly known as Anti Retroviral Therapy (ART) there are some things that might affect your life and need to be considered. We highly recommend self-checking according to this checklist.

For a list of HIV testing sites in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent visit the Testing Locations section of the site. The locations listed are just a few of the many places in Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent where someone can receive a free HIV test. You can also encourage your service users to speak with their health care practitioner, or go to the closest medical clinic in their community.

Pozitive Pathways provides support, education and outreach services for people at risk of, or living with HIV, Hep C and substance use. Our services span the Windsor-Essex and Chatham-Kent counties.

While we do not provide clinical services, we do provide a wide array of support services to assist HIV positive people who are newly diagnosed or those that have been living with the virus for some time in achieving optimal health and well-being. Some of these services include, but are not limited to, client accompaniment, home and hospital visits, advocacy and wellness calls. For a full list of services visit the Support Services section of our site.

Pozitive pathways has an established relationship with the Windsor Regional Hospital HIV Care Program. Some of the doctors and staff at the HIV Care Program have been assisting HIV positive service users with their medical needs for over 30 years. The privacy and well-being of each service user is of outmost priority. To contact the HIV Care Program, call 519-254-6115.

If the services provided by the HIV Care Program do not meet the needs of an HIV positive service user you are assisting, contact our Support Services to speak with a staff member regarding their specific needs.

There is currently no legislation or case law obligating HIV positive people to disclose their status to service providers including their doctors, nurses, dentists, surgeons, paramedics or any other health-care professionals. Whether or not a person decides to disclose their HIV status is a personal choice. Disclosing one’s HIV status can be very difficult. If someone chooses to disclose their HIV status to you, it’s important that you treat this information with the utmost privacy. It’s always best practice to obtain consent from an individual before sharing any personal information including their HIV status.

Health-care professionals: Generally, health-care professionals do not require a service users’ express consent (i.e., either stated verbally or in writing) to disclose their health information to other health-care professionals for the purpose of providing or assisting in providing care. This practice is called sharing information within the “circle of care.” In many provinces, consent will be considered implied in such circumstances, meaning you won’t have to ask for consent.¹

_{¹ Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, (2014). “Living with HIV, Know Your Rights. Disclosure as a patient.}

Needle Syringe Programs (NSP) are community based programs rooted in the harm reduction philosophy aimed at reducing the risk factors surrounding injection and inhalation drug use and the spread of communicable viruses such as HIV and Hepatitis C. Needle syringe programs distribute unused needles and associated paraphernalia at no cost to service users. For more information about Pozitive Pathways’ NSP check out the NSP pages of the site.

In Ontario, the HIV epidemic disproportionately affects specific populations. Populations that are more vulnerable to HIV infection include: gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM); African, Caribbean, and Black (ACB) Ontarians; Aboriginal Peoples; people who use injection drugs (PUD); and women who are either members of high-risk populations or engage in HIV risk activities with them. Other groups that have a greater vulnerability include: people who use drugs through means other than injecting, transwomen and transmen, people who are incarcerated, youth, and aging populations.