HIV Prevention and Support Referrals
HIV testing is part of a continuum of high-quality HIV services available in the province of Ontario. This includes prevention services to help prevent people from being infected with HIV, and to link them to a range of clinical care and support services, if they have been infected. HIV testing is an important gateway to all these services.
HIV test providers are encouraged to learn more about the HIV education, prevention and care services available in Ontario, and which of those services may be available locally.
Local HIV/AIDS Service Organizations provide:
- prevention and education services to help people avoid infection often including support groups and harm reduction supplies
- emotional and social support to people who have being diagnosed with HIV in determining what this diagnosis means for their lives
- guidance in finding appropriate health and social services, as needed
To find local HIV/AIDS Service Organizations contact Ontario 211 (or call 211 on your phone.) You can also check HIV 411, a cross-Canada service maintained by CATIE to help find individuals find HIV and Hepatitis C service and support agencies. CATIE also offers a broad range of information resources on HIV and Hepatitis C that may be helpful to both individuals and care providers, including these resources for newly diagnosed individuals.
Additional Prevention Resources
Providers can refer their patients to the Sexual Health Ontario website, to learn more about protecting their sexual health. Sexual Health Ontario can also help people find sexual health clinics in their area either through the website or by calling the Sexual Health Infoline Ontario (SHILO) at 1-800-668-2437 (Ontario wide) or 416-392-2437 in Toronto.
OntarioPrEP.ca – a resource for people considering HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis and for prescribers who need more information to support their patients.