An outreach office has been established in the Gay & Lesbian
Centre (GLC) in order to recruit 1000 participants into the Vanguard
Project, a new study examining the incidence of HIV infection
and risk factors in young gay and bisexual men. This new study
is expected to provide an accurate picture of infection rates
within the younger generation of gay and bisexual men, still at
high risk for HIV despite a decade of prevention education efforts.
Both the GLC and the Bute Street Clinic have been involved with the project since its inception in late 1994. Ken Steffenson, Executive Director of the GLC, and Mary Lou Miller of the Bute Street Clinic are members of the project's Community Advisory Committee, which meets regularly at the GLC to provide input on the direction of the research project.
"We're very pleased to be working so closely with the GLC and the Bute Street Clinic on this study," says Project Manager Dr. Steffanie Strathdee. "A community-based approach is vital to the success of this type of research, and the GLC has provided not only a meeting space for the Advisory Committee but also a focal point for various communities which are involved."
The Vanguard Project is open to all men who have sex with men, whether they define themselves as gay, bisexual or straight. Eligible participants must be between the ages of 18 and 30 and live in the Lower Mainland. Participation involves providing a blood sample and completing a self-administered questionnaire on an annual basis. The information gathered from participants will be kept strictly confidential.
This study is being launched by UBC and the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS, under the direction of Dr. Martin Schechter and colleagues. The Centre is also responsible for the Vancouver Lymphadenopathy-AIDS Study (VLAS), the largest and longest-running study of its kind in Canada. The VLAS has followed 1,000 gay men since 1982 in a study of natural history of HIV/AIDS. Recent findings have uncovered causal relationships between income, social support and HIV-disease progression.
For more info or to participate, contact Steve Martindale at 687-2469, fax 631-5464, or drop by the office at 1170 Bute Street.
For more information, contact:
Bonnie Devlin
Vanguard Project Coordinator
608 - 1081 Burrard Street
Vancouver, BC, Canada, V6Z 1Y6
Tel: (604)806-8306
Fax: (604)806-9044