• Français
  • Search
  • Conference
    • CAHR 2023
    • Future CAHR Conferences
    • Mark Wainberg Lecture
    • Past Conferences
  • Awards
    • HCP Travel Awards Competition
    • Mark Wainberg Fund
    • CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards
    • Red Ribbon Award
    • Funding Archive
    • Funding Landscape
  • Training
    • Workshops
    • Webinars
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada PART 2
    • Clinical Summaries
    • E-Learning Modules
    • Posters and Presentations
    • Community Based Research
    • Student Profiles
    • Training Workshops: Consultation Report
    • Publications / Resources
  • About CAHR
    • Who We Are
    • President’s Message
    • Board of Directors
    • Become a Member
    • CAHR Annual General Meeting
    • CAHR Strategic Plan 2020 – 2025
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Media
    • CAHR News
    • Media
    • Featured Researchers
  • Conference
    • CAHR 2023
    • Future CAHR Conferences
    • Sponsors & Exhibitors
    • Mark Wainberg Lecture
    • Past Conferences
  • Awards
    • HCP Travel Awards Competition
    • Mark Wainberg Fund
    • CAHR-CANFAR Excellence in Research Awards
    • Red Ribbon Award
    • Funding Archive
    • Funding Landscape
  • Training
    • Workshops
    • Webinars
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada
      • HIV and COVID-19: Clinical Considerations for Health Care Professionals in Canada PART 2
    • Clinical Summaries
    • E-Learning Modules
    • Posters and Presentations
    • Community Based Research
    • Student Profiles
    • Training Workshops: Consultation Report
    • Publications / Resources
  • About CAHR
    • Who We Are
    • President’s Message
    • Board of Directors
    • CAHR Board Trainee
    • Become a Member
    • CAHR Strategic Plan 2020 – 2025
    • CAHR Annual General Meeting
    • Call for Nominations: CAHR Board of Directors
    • Staff
    • Contact
  • Media
    • CAHR News
    • Media

Dr. Joanne Otis

Better Research through Community Involvement
Université du Québec à Montréal

A Professor in the Department of Sexology and holder of the Canada Research Chair in Health Education at UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal), Dr. Joanne Otis has long been interested in health promotion. After working as a high school teacher for 10 years, she made the decision to continue her education. “I realized that I needed to go further, so I did a Master’s in public health at the University of Montreal. I was always interested in health behaviours and health promotion, in particular for youth and young adults. This was in the mid-1980s, so at the time there was also a lot of concern about patterns of sexual behaviour among young people and the possibility that we would start to see high rates of HIV infection in this population.” This interest in health issues important to young people led her to explore the determinants of condom use for her PhD. Dr. Otis’ research projects are oriented in significant ways by community perspectives and needs, and this a strength of her approach to research. “When you consistently work in a participatory way, new questions emerge and you are more responsive to community concerns. If we limit ourselves to consulting scientific literature, we won’t be attuned to the point of view of affected groups such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and people living with HIV,” says Dr. Otis. “Meaningful community involvement allows us to do better research.”

Two of Dr. Otis’ CIHR-supported projects involve the provision of community-based services that that have undergone ongoing improvement by obtaining feedback from participants. The first of these, the SPOT project, offers free, anonymous, rapid HIV testing for gay men and the MSM population in Montreal. Anonymous blood samples are also collected for phylogenetic analyses to increase understanding of the dynamics of HIV transmission among MSM in Quebec (overseen by the McGill AIDS Centre). Community workers have been integrated into the testing team at SPOT (the first time this has been done in a Quebec) and provide pre- and post-test counseling in collaboration with a nurse responsible for testing. SPOT also gathers data to guide the development of more effective approaches to counseling and the delivery of testing services. An implementation analysis has been ongoing since 2009 to increase understanding of how to implement long-term, durable, effective services that will optimize HIV testing and prevention for MSM. Dr. Otis oversees SPOT’s psychosocial research activities, developing questionnaires and testing interventions to improve services.

Pouvoir Partager/Pouvoirs Partagés, another of Dr. Otis’ projects, is a second example. This project aims to help HIV-positive women in making decisions regarding whether or not to disclose their HIV status. Established as a partnership that brings together community groups, women living with HIV/AIDS, and university researchers, the project measured participants’ experiences with regards to disclosure of HIV status, offered workshops to increase understanding of the different options for whether or not to disclose, and assessed participants’ satisfaction with the program. Results indicate that the program has generated a sense of empowerment, individually and collectively, among the women who have participated in relation to disclosure of HIV status. Dr. Otis is now working to adapt the program for use in other countries such as Mali. “After spending time with women in Bamako, I could see how this type of project had changed their lives and empowered them.” explains Dr. Otis. “They had a new feeling about their right to be alive and their right to a good quality of life. You could see the confidence in their eyes.” The program can be accessed through an online training module (www.pouvoirpartager.uqam.ca). An English version is being developed and will be available soon.

Working closely with participants in these projects has given Dr. Otis a sense that her work makes a difference in the lives of HIV-positive women and HIV-positive people in general, and has had a positive impact in the gay community and the MSM population. More than anything else, this is what inspires her to do community-based work. “From my perspective, there is no other way to do research.”
The Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR), the CIHR HIV/AIDS Research Initiative, the Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research (CANFAR), the CIHR Canadian HIV Trials Network (CTN) and the Canadian HIV Vaccine Initiative (CHVI) Research and Development Alliance Coordinating Office (ACO) would like to congratulate Dr. Otis for her significant contributions to our understanding of the HIV epidemic. Her work is part of a larger Canadian research effort that is making a difference in the lives of those affected by HIV in Canada and around the world.

Our Mission

  • Promote excellence in HIV research
  • Foster collaboration and cooperation among HIV research communities, including basic science, clinical science, epidemiology & public health and social science
  • Promote education and the development of new researchers
  • Provide a unified voice for Canadian HIV researchers and engage diverse stakeholders (community, industry, Government, NGO’s etc.) in ongoing dialogue and knowledge exchange to ensure that HIV research remains responsive to their needs
CAHR 2023 Conference Logo

CAHR 2023
April 27 to 30, 2023

Learn More

Recent News

  • Reminder: Apply Now – A workshop on “Jumpstarting your Participatory Social-Behavioural Health Intervention” cahr-acrv.ca/wp-content/upl… nUV @CBRC weets @CAT EInfo @Giving_
  • Rappel : Postulez maintenant - Un atelier sur « Lancez votre intervention participative en santé sociocomportementale ». cahr-acrv.ca/wp-content/upl… @CBRCtwe ts @CATIEI fo @Giving_It_
  • CAHR is seeking nominations for its Board of Directors, see cahr-acrv.ca/about-cahr/cal… #HIVCan
  • L'ACRV souhaite recevoir des mises en candidature pour son conseil d'administration, voir cahr-acrv.ca/fr/a-propos-de… #VIHCan
  • CIHR has made changes to its HIV/AIDS and STBBI Community-Based Research (CBR) funding opportunities. See: cihr-irsc.gc.ca/e/53376.html #HIVCan
  • Se souvenir de Chris Bunting
Subscribe to the CAHR Newsletter

About CAHR

With a membership of more than 1,000 researchers and others interested in HIV research, the Canadian Association for HIV Research (CAHR) is the leading organization of HIV/AIDS researchers in Canada. CAHR is the organizing body for the Annual Canadian Conference on HIV/AIDS Research (CAHR Conference).

CAHR encourages Canadian researchers to be leaders in knowledge translation and to effectively respond both to the Canadian and global HIV/AIDS epidemics. Since its founding in 1991, CAHR has promoted excellence in HIV research, including mentorship and career development of investigators entering the field.

CAHR fosters collaboration and co-operation among HIV research communities, including basic, clinical and social sciences, epidemiology and public health. CAHR also engages people living with HIV/AIDS and AIDS service organizations in ongoing dialogue and information exchange to ensure that HIV/AIDS research remains responsive to the epidemic and its stakeholders.

CAHR is a registered charity.

Links

  • Who We Are
  • Conference
  • Awards
  • Workshops
  • Featured Researchers
  • Student Profiles
  • CAHR News

Contact

For more information or to make a comment, please contact us:

Canadian Association for HIV Research

440 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 7X6

1-888-374-CAHR (2247)
info@cahr-acrv.ca
  • Media
  • Contact
  • Français