PHS collaboration

Collaborative initiative with Public Health Scotland to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent, diagnose and treat blood borne viruses in Scotland

The Scottish Government published its first Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Framework in 2011 (thereafter updated in 2015 covering the period through to 2020). The Framework brought together policy on HIV, viral hepatitis and sexual health, and includes outcomes to:

1. Reduce the number of people acquiring blood borne viruses and sexually transmitted infections
2. Reduce the health inequalities gap in sexual health and blood borne viruses,
3. Ensure people affected by blood borne viruses lead longer, healthier lives.

The collaboration between PHS and GCU aims to generate evidence to evaluate existing, and inform future, policy and practice in Scotland and support the delivery of Scottish Government’s SHBBV Framework.

As part of this collaboration, GCU leads on and/or contributes to a range of initiatives:

• Needle Exchange Surveillance Initiative (NESI)
• Gay Men’s Sexual Health Survey
• Data portal and reports for Scottish Government’s SHBBV Framework
• Scottish Government’s  Hepatitis C Treatment and Therapies Group, involving generation of evidence to inform national targets on treatment and disease
• Scotland’s Hepatitis C Elimination Strategy
• National HIV Prep Monitoring and Evaluation Group (Chaired by Prof Estcourt)

Collaborative team

Sharon Hutchinson, David Goldberg, Claudia Estcourt, Jamie Frankis, Andy McAuley, Norah Palmateer, Scott McDonald, Kirsten Trayner, Victoria Hamill, Shanley Smith, Tony Knox, and Chris Biggam, and honorary appointees Nicola Steedman, Rak Nandwani and Saket Priyadarshi

Contact: sharon.hutchinson@gcu.ac.uk

Funded by Public Health Scotland (awarded in excess of £5 million in total since 2013 across range of initiatives).