Re-thinking ASOs? Responding to the End of AIDS Exceptionalism through East-West Collaboration

Recent and planned shifts in HIV/AIDS policies and funding programs collectively signal the end of "AIDS exceptionalism." In the past, federal HIV/AIDS-targeted funding was "protected"; however, today, shifts away from this are prompting a national rethinking of the role of community-based AIDS service organizations(ASOs), including their scope, mandate, and founding values. As a result, ASOs from coast to coast are under pressure to develop integrated models of service delivery, which may include - in addition to HIV - hepatitis B & C, other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections (STBBIs), mental health and tuberculosis. How will this change affect the next generation of HIV/AIDS-related interventions, services, and programs? How can we ensure that ASOs will continue to meet client's complex needs? This project will harness the momentum of processes underway in both the Atlantic Region and in British Columbia to collectively identify a research agenda that will identify the most effective ways to deliver community-based programs in the post-AIDS exceptionalism era. We will host two simultaneous one-day planning meetings - one in the Atlantic region (covering Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador) and one in BC - where participants will develop community-based research directions that will help ASOs determine whether integrated models for delivering HIV/AIDS services will continue to meet the complex and exceptional needs of people with HIV, and if so, how these services might be best designed. This project will strengthen the response to HIV/AIDS in Canada by building inter-provincial and national research partnerships and collaborations, promoting evidence-based programming, and informing policy directions.