Concurrent and Plenary Sessions Abstracts

Monday, November 7^th, 2011

Concurrent Sessions A (10:00 – 11:00 am)

A1 – Sexual Health Assessment in A Primary Care SettingShohan

Learn what swab goes where, our thoughts on who is the at risk populations as well as how to ask the right questions and feel comfortable doing it.  We will cover the 1-2-3 of doing a sexual health history in the context of our busy health care practices.  Come join us in an easy going environment where we will attempt to answer any of your questions.  We promise entertainment and maybe chocolate!

A2 - Sexual Health 101

Are you interested in developing the skills needed to integrate and expand sexual health services in your workplace?  This workshop is geared towards those who are looking for an introduction to sexual health concepts, strategies and programming foundations.  It is our goal to help you strategize to better meet the needs of your program participants and programs.

Objectives include:

• Understanding the principles of, and the recommendations for, creating safer spaces
• Integrating education and prevention concepts into your work and service delivery
• An introduction to Safer Sexual Health concepts and foundations

Presented by: Gina McKay, Krystal Payne, Veda Koncan and Aleasha Hacault, RN

Plenary Panel (11:00 am – 12:00 pm)

The Test is Positive, What Next?

This talk will be given from a PHA Perspective, based on their individual experiences and some of the challenges that lie on the road ahead for people living with HIV.

Presented by: Jim Kane and TBA

Plenary Panel (1:00 – 2:00 pm)

Bringing Sexy Back: Integrating Sex Positivity into Your Work 

When program participants disclose personal information during sexual health assessments, do you know how to respond? And better yet, do you know what they are talking about?

This workshop will help you set the stage for open, informed dialogue around healthy sexuality and sexual activity from a non-judgmental, client-centered care model.

Objectives include:

• How sexual health & harm reduction applies to varied forms of relationships, sex, drug use strategies and tools
• An understanding of levels and different types of risk
• An introduction to non-judgmental risk communication

Presented by: Gina McKay, Krystal Payne, Veda Koncan and Aleasha Hacault, RN

Plenary Panel (2:00 – 3:00 pm)

Manitoba Sexually Transmitted and Blood Borne Infections Strategy

Manitoba Health and Healthy Living, Youth and Seniors are co-leading the development of a new provincial sexually transmitted blood borne infections (STBBI) strategy.  The province wide approach integrates HIV into the overall STBBI prevention, treatment and surveillance strategy. The strategy development process has been a result of key collaborations between provincial, regional, federal and community partners and stakeholders.  As part of the strategy, a new STBBI Advisory Committee and three working groups have been struck to oversee the direction of the strategy development process. The strategy will include chamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HPV and HIV. The updated strategy is intended to create a more coordinated provincial response to STBBI prevention and control in Manitoba.

This session will provide a brief overview of Manitoba’s new STBBI strategy development process including the overarching goals, guiding principles, main objectives and strategy pillars.  The strategy format will include an action plan identifying specific actions, roles and accountabilities as well as the anticipated outcomes.

In addition, the presentation will outline the main objectives of the new strategy.  These include developing new policy for STBBI prevention, treatment and surveillance; determining the epidemiology of STBBI in Manitoba based on the regional data;  improving province-wide coordination of the delivery of STBBI prevention, treatment and control services; drafting high-level options and recommendations for a new integrated model of STBBI service delivery in Manitoba;  and finally  drafting an overall STBBI strategy document for the general public that is accessible on the Government of Manitoba website by March, 2012.

Presented by: Shelly Smith and Shelley Stopera

Tuesday, November 8^th, 2011

Concurrent Sessions B (10:00 – 11:00 am)

B1 – Community in Action

This dynamic panel presentation offers examples of innovative community-based responses to HIV and STI. The Play it Safer Network (NOR-MAN Regional Health Authority) will review their youth-led UnWANTED project and highlight the tools and strategies employed to keep youth engaged and involved through all phases of the project. The Safer Choices Northern Network (SCNN), based in Thompson, MB, will review the ST/BBI education and prevention initiatives being put into ACTION in Burntwood Region, including the experiences SCNN has had in the planning and production of a youth made STI awareness video, entitled “GET IT ON!” This 14 minute video will be available for viewing at the conference. The 595 Prevention Team will review a partnership with the Spruce Woods Sundance Family and WRHA Public Health to develop an educational brochure about Routine Practices at Sundance ceremonies. The Sundance is a healing ceremony which involves various invasive procedures where blood may be present. The presentation will include a brief overview of the ceremony and its participants; and the efforts to prevent the transmission of blood borne infections like HIV and HCV.

Presented by: Carrie Pockett, Nancy Vystrcil, Adele Sweeny and Shohan Illsley

B2 – Men’s Health and HIV Panel

Both "health" and "HIV" are cultural categories and sets of beliefs that carry multiple meanings. In the context of immigration, where youth negotiate dual meaning systems from Canadian society as well as their country of origin, the cultural underpinnings of "sexual health" may be particularly complex. Moreover, norms of masculinity present particular barriers to sexual health. Examining men's stories can reveal the cultural dimensions of male sexuality and how prevailing gender norms can impact men's sexual health (Rivers and Aggleton 1999).

Presented by: Reece Malone and Dr. Susan Frohlick

Plenary Panel (11:00 am – 12:00 pm)

Sexual Transmission of Hepatitis C in Gay and Bisexual Men Living with HIV 

Hepatitis C is not classified as a sexually transmitted infection (STI), however, HCV cases are being documented in HIV+ gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, without injection-related risks. At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: reference the evidence of sexual HCV transmission, associated risk factors, and complications of HIV/HCV co-infection; identify program implications of this research that may relate to their work; and access tools and campaigns recently produced to increase awareness of sexual risks of hepatitis C infection. Please note that this workshop contains explicit footage of gay sex, used as an educational tool. 

Presented by: Jeff Reinhart

Concurrent Sessions C (1:00 – 2:00 pm)

C1 – Communication, Language and Disclosure

Have you ever wondered how to initiate a discussion about a taboo subject?  Is your workplace ensuring your program participants’ confidentiality?  How do you measure this?

This workshop will help you understand the importance of inclusive language, disclosure and confidentiality in order to retain program participants for future testing and sexual health assessment.   Learning your own biases and the basics of communicating to create safer spaces are the goals of this workshop.

Objectives include:

• The practical application of initiating conversation, setting boundaries and ensuring confidentiality
• Understanding the importance of language and learning your biases

• Identifying and applying your responsibilities specific to disclosure and regional reporting

Presented by: Gina McKay, Krystal Payne, Veda Koncan and Aleasha Hacault, RN

C2 – HIV Contact Tracing

This presentation explores current issues around HIV contact tracing including; efficacy and purpose, present guidelines, interview techniques to enhance reliability/recall, ethical issues, WRHA/Public Health’s HIV contact notification process and alternatives to traditional contact follow up including social network investigations.

Presented by: Shelly Marshall RN

Plenary Panel (2:00 – 3:00 pm)

HIV & Pregnancy: Issues and Responses

In 2010, Manitoba experienced its first HIV mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) in 5 years. Through a coordinated interdisciplinary effort, procedures, protocols and pooling of HIV expertise have been put in place to minimize future occurrences of HIV MTCT. Seven cases of HIV MTCT have occurred from 1989 to 2011. The circumstances surrounding these cases will be discussed to illustrate challenges in prevention of MTCT (PMTCT) of HIV and the National Institute of Health guidelines for PMTCT will be reviewed.

Presented by: Dr. Jared Bullard and Dr. Denise Black

Wednesday, November 9^th, 2011

Sexual Health Assessment Certificate Training

This additional certificate training compliments the core competencies provided during the 2 day conference, and has been added for those who would like to complete the full certificate Sexual Health Assessment training.

The training is geared towards service providers working with existing, and developing strategies and procedures for new, sexual health assessment programming.  The SHA training, in full, will prepare service providers to better meet the needs of those accessing sexual health and health promotion services by providing hands on training regarding some of the most difficult of subject areas – diagnosis, identity, gender, culture, harm reduction, language and assessment, to name just a few.

The four final modules will be explored during this 3^rd day:  ‘Culture, Space and Identity,’ ‘Harm Reduction,’ ‘Delivering a Positive Diagnosis’ and ‘Sexual Health Assessment.’

For more information on the conference, please contact Shannon Barry at either (204) 253-8623 or via email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it