Research

In 2016, 42% of people were diagnosed with HIV late in the UK – and late diagnosis leads to a tenfold increase in mortality compared to those diagnosed promptly (Public Health England (PHE), 2016). People outside London, of black ethnicity and those over 50 are most likely to be diagnosed late (PHE, 2017).

A key priority of the national HIV prevention programme (HPE) is to reduce late diagnosis by increasing HIV prevention and testing among GPs and other primary care providers. To achieve this, we have launched a new GP Engagement Strategy [PDF] which outlines the activities and approaches which we will adopt.

The average adult visits their GP at least three times a year (The King’s Fund, 2016). In contrast, the last national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles (Natsal-3) found that (Tanton et al, 2018):

• As few as 4.9% of sexually active adults attended a sexual health clinic (SHC) in the last year.
• More than 80% of those who reported having condomless sex had not attended a SHC in the last year.
• 65% of men and 77% of women who had never been to a SHC were more likely to seek treatment from their GP instead.

Despite the challenges associated with delivering HIV testing and prevention interventions in primary care, GP-based HIV testing and prevention is essential for many reasons, not least that the national guidelines strongly recommend increased GP testing in areas of high and very high prevalence of diagnosed HIV.

HPE will provide significant opportunities to support GPs and primary care practitioners, through National HIV Testing Week, providing free patient resources, information briefings for professionals, and providing sector development training events.

Download the briefing

HIV Prevention England GP Engagement Strategy [PDF]

Get involved

HPE provides resources and training. If you work in primary care:

• Take advantage of our free patient resources.
• Sign-up to our monthly newsletter to keep up-to-date with our latest news and events (complete the form opposite).

Forthcoming events

HPE will be attending the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Annual Primary Care Conference & Exhibition in October, we welcome delegates to visit our stand in the exhibition space to talk to us about our work.

In late October we will be hosting two events for GPs and people working in primary care on pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and HIV testing in both London and Manchester. Contact us if you would like to register your interest.

National HIV Testing Week starts Saturday 17 November 2018.

Terrence Higgins Trust and Sophia forum recently launched  ‘Women and HIV: Invisible No Longer’, a report to bring attention to the needs of women living with or affected by HIV. It was co-produced with women living with and affected by HIV.

The report was developed using existing evidence and new data generated with over 340 women through surveys and workshops.

It focuses on all women, including trans women, regardless of sexuality, ethnicity, whether they do or do not have children, or are pregnant or not.

Key Findings

Some of the key findings include the following:

• Almost half (45%) of women living with HIV in the UK live below the poverty line.
• Over half of women living with HIV in the UK have experienced violence because of their HIV status.
• Nearly one third (31%) have avoided or delayed attending healthcare in the past year due to fear of discrimination.
• Two thirds of women living with HIV (67%) are not satisfied with their sex lives.
• Two in five women living with HIV (42%) said that HIV impacted their decisions on whether to have children.
• Despite this, half of women living with HIV (49%) described their quality of life as ‘good’ or ‘very good’, while a further 38% called it ‘acceptable’.
• On HIV prevention, little effort has been made to define who the women at risk of HIV are.
• Nearly half the respondents (42%) felt that barriers prevent them from testing for HIV.

Read the full report (PDF) or the executive summary (PDF).

Five key asks

The report details a number of recommendations but the writers of the report have five key asks that summarise the changes needed to ensure that women’s needs are met  appropriately in HIV prevention, care, support, research and data in the UK.

1. Achieve gender parity in the UK HIV response, ensuring equitable investment, priority and attention to women in HIV prevention, research, data and services.
2. Ensure that HIV research addresses specific knowledge gaps around HIV and women and supports the full participation and meaningful involvement of women.
3. Prioritise reducing late diagnosis of HIV among women, better explore the use of innovative HIV testing approaches, and improve rates of HIV test offers and uptake in different settings.
4. Improve data collection and disaggregation on HIV and women, ensure local level data is available, and include sexuality data for women in national reporting.
5. Invest in HIV support services that meet women’s needs holistically and enable women to not just live well but to thrive, including peer support and support for mental health and gender-based violence.