The objective of the contract is to collect secondary surveillance data (i.e., target population, recruitment and sampling methods, data collection methods, questionnaire and biological specimen types) for the A/C E-Track HIV surveillance in Toronto and Ottawa, with behavioural and biological indicators prioritized by PHAC as key to national monitoring of HIV and programmatic responses in Canada.
As part of the work of the HIV/AIDS Enhanced Surveillance Section, Surveillance and Epidemiology Division, Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control, the Public Health Agency of Canada has launched a series of cross-sectional, biological-behavioural surveys of key populations at risk for HIV and related diseases (the Tracks surveillance system). One of this set of surveys is E-Track which intends to monitor trends in the prevalence of HIV and associated behaviours and socio-demographic factors among people in Toronto and Ottawa who were born in HIV-endemic countries (mainly Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean). E-Track was piloted in Montreal in 2013 and the Agency is now preparing to collaborate with others to obtain similar information in other cities in Canada. The Toronto/Ottawa A/C Study has the potential to provide such information.
In order to assure highest quality and maintain current timelines, it is required that the Agency seek the services of an experienced organization for the implementation and completion of this work. Such an organization would have valued experience, knowledge and familiarity in the field of HIV/AIDS surveillance, with provincial and territorial stakeholders/ partners, and experience with secondary data collection. This contract would allow for continuity and transition of the knowledge gathered by the organization to build upon the Agency’s capacity to create and implement a high-quality surveillance system for this area of study.
National estimates produced by PHAC show that people from HIV-endemic countries are over-represented among persons infected with HIV in Canada, with an estimated 16% of people living with HIV in 2014 attributed to the ‘heterosexual sex/endemic origin’ exposure category. According to the 2011 census, people born in countries where HIV is endemic comprised about 2.5% of the total Canadian population.
To fulfill its knowledge development mandate under the Federal Initiative to Address HIV/AIDS in Canada, PHAC collaborated with a wide range of key stakeholders to conceptualise and develop the first phase of data collection for E-Track: Enhanced Surveillance of HIV, Sexually Transmitted and Blood-borne Infections, and Associated Risk Behaviours among persons who originate from countries where HIV is endemic. The pilot phase was conducted in one sentinel site (Montreal) in 2007. As a result of numerous challenges, surveys in additional sites of the E-Track survey were not conducted, resulting in a significant gap in current knowledge on important behavioural and biological indicators. In addition, new global targets and recommended monitoring indicators have been developed by UNAIDS and endorsed by many countries, including Canada. To date, there are no alternate sources of data to monitor these new indicators. In order to bridge the information gap, there is a need to collaborate with external researchers conducting HIV-focused behavioural and biological studies.
The A/C E-Track surveillance study will aim to collect detailed information on the prevalence of HIV, associated behaviours, socio-demographic factors and social determinants of health among people in Toronto and Ottawa who are first and second generation residents of African and Caribbean background. This study has the potential to provide information on existing information gaps relating to persons from countries where HIV is endemic. The successful vendor will need to be well positioned to conduct HIV research, data collection and monitoring for HIV in Ontario, as well as the ability to collaborate with community-based agencies, health care providers, government policy makers, educators and researchers.
In addition, the successful vendor would need to have the capacity to partner with the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) to link the A/C E-Track surveillance data with the data held by ICES. ICES is an independent non-profit organization that houses data as well as supports research on a wide variety of health care issues. Administrative data housed by ICES includes hospitalization data from continuing care and ambulatory care centers, drug benefit programs and physician claims. Therefore, the vendor will need to add value for this data linkage and thus result in the potential to provide information that can help fulfil indicators for the E-Track system.
