Webinars

As part of our efforts to provide the #EuroTestWeek network with educational resources, in addition to the ETW materials and success stories, we are happy to also host interactive webinars that highlight testing experiences and the latest data from the WHO European region.

ETW hosted its first webinars during the May 2019 Spring ETW. Both webinars can be viewed below.

For the lead up to the 2019 November ETW, the initiative will host one webinar each month from September to November.

What is planned for Autumn 2019?

To help launch the November 2019 European Testing Week, the next webinar will take place Friday, the 22nd of November at 14:00!

Have you ever wanted to know how to use your own data for testing advocacy? Or use the data you collect to influence policy makers to make change? Then join our webinar!

Date: Friday, 22 November 14:00-14:30 CET.

Title: Using data for change: How to generate and use information from the real world, for the real world

Brief description of webinar:

The webinar will focus on discussing accessible methods to collect information in settings where community based or civil society organisations work, and ways to use them to leverage political change or generate political debate at the local and national level.

Attendants will be asked to share experiences and concrete issues to be analysed as examples prior to the webinar, if willing. Pre-arranged examples are also available to explore and discuss.

Topics under discussion will include: potential purposes of data, use of data in NGO and community based organisations; key data sources in the region, gathering data for action - rationale, planning advocacy linked to data collection, stakeholder identification and partnerships.

The subjects being explored are complex and strategies will be highly variable between settings. The purpose of the webinar is to structure the thinking process and provide a planning rationale to enable participants to generate or contribute in generating the information that is relevant in their own settings.

Target audience and disclaimers:

This webinar is primarily aimed at persons working in or collaborating with community-based or civil society organisations, who operate at a local or national level. The intent is to not only discuss the issues identified, but also to enable sharing of experiences from organisations around Europe. If you would like to contribute to the discussion with case examples, please email them to the EuroTEST secretariat before the webinar at eurotest.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk by Wednesday, 20 November end of business day.

This will not be a technical M&E or research methodology webinar.

The webinar will be conducted in English but submitting questions to the EuroTEST secretariat beforehand in French, Spanish or Portuguese is possible (responses will be given in English).

Webinar format:

The format of the webinar will be a 20 minute presentation followed by 10 minutes for Questions and Answers. Participants will be able to submit questions/case examples before and during the webinar. If you have questions for the presenter beforehand, please submit them to the ETW secretariat at eurotest.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk.

Brief presenter bios:
Daniel Simões is a Psychologist working in the third sector in Portugal since 2004. He has been working GAT - Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos since 2011 in both project management and policy/advocacy activities and is co-coordinating the Community Based Testing Network in Portugal. He is an EATG member, and part of the Policy Working Group Steering Committee. Daniel is currently a research fellow in the Global Public Health PhD program, in the Institute of Public Health of the University of Porto, in Portugal, co-chair of the EuroTEST Steering Committee and member of the ETW Working Group.

Dr. Daniela Rojas Castro is a social psychologist and the Director of the Community Research Programme at Coalition PLUS in Pantin, France. She has her PhD in Social Psychology and Methodology and conducts research in an international community-based association that aims to improve not only the quality of life but also the rights of most-at-risk populations and PLWHA. Current research topics are: PWID, elderly and HIV, interest and intention to take PrEP (Latin America, Europe and Western Africa), community-based testing (MSM and migrants), access to PEP, and identifying health needs of male sex workers.

How can you participate?

Please click here to register for the webinar or copy/paste the following link in your web browser: https://bit.ly/2XadnAP

Is there a fee to participate?

No, the webinars will be completely free.

Questions? Email us at eurotest.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk

Past Webinars

October 2019

The fourth webinar, "HIV and viral hepatitis community-based testing in low threshold settings: European experiences" occurred on Tuesday, 29 October from 14-14:30 CET. Jason Farrell of Correlation Network provided information on establishing and maintaining integrated testing for viral hepatitis and HIV through community services in low threshold organisations. One of the aims of the webinar was to give service providers a better understanding of what community testing is, and the challenges when establishing integrated testing for viral hepatitis and HIV with medical workers or with peer workers (lay providers) in community services. The webinar informed about the potential barriers and issues between both types of service provision and present good practice examples from select sites in Europe who have successfully overcome barriers in implementing community testing in low threshold organisations.

This webinar will also examine current EU policies and testing guidelines, including the 2015 WHO consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services and the 2018 ECDC guidance on testing for viral hepatitis and HIV, and identified best practices to support testing in low threshold settings.

Brief presenter bio: Jason Farrell works as a project officer for Correlation Network. He is responsible for HCV prevention capacity building, providing training and program support for Correlation Network’s member organisations involved in HCV-community testing.

To watch the webinar, click here or copy/paste the following address into your web browser: https://bit.ly/2NPJxOZ

September 2019

In September 2019, there were two free live webinars:

The webinar "Moving towards integration: ECDC public health guidance on HIV, hepatitis B and C testing in the EU/EEA" occurred on Tuesday, 24 September 2019 from 13:00-13:30 CEST. Anastasia Pharris of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) provided an introduction of the development of the 2018 ECDC public health guidance and presented the recommendations in implementing integrated testing for HIV and viral hepatitis.

Brief description of webinar: In 2018, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) published an update to their 2010 guidance on HIV testing, extending the document to include testing for viral hepatitis. This guidance aims to provide European countries with an evidence-based framework to help develop, implement, monitor and evaluate their own national HBV, HCV and HIV testing guidelines and programmes. It offers a range of evidence-based and expert reviewed options for designing testing interventions in a variety of settings and populations and supports the concepts of diversifying and integrating testing services.

Presenter bio: Anastasia Pharris is an Expert in HIV at the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm, Sweden. She is a nurse with Masters degrees in public health and community health nursing and a PhD in public health. Over the last 20 years, she has worked on clinical and public health aspects of HIV in the USA, Uganda, Zambia, Vietnam, Sweden and, now, at the European level. At ECDC, she is responsible for HIV surveillance within the countries of the European Union. She also provides technical support to countries in Europe on the HIV continuum of care and modelled estimates of HIV incidence and time from infection to HIV diagnosis.

She has led several ECDC country visits for technical support to local authorities and ECDC scientific guidance projects on the prevention of infections among people who inject drugs and men who have sex with men.

To watch the webinar, click here or copy/paste the following address into your web browser: https://bit.ly/2Kpt4Pq

The webinar, "Applying Integrated Testing Recommendations in Community Settings," was organised by the European AIDS Treatment Group and supported by ETW. The webinar occurred on 12 September from 17:00-17:45 CET.

Brief description of webinar: EATG organised a webinar to support mutual learning and exchange on effective testing approaches by lay providers between community services providers and interested partners. The webinar examined tools to support integrated HIV/viral hepatitis testing as per ECDC testing recommendations - outside of medical settings.

Brief speaker bio: Miguel Rocha, a nurse working with GAT will present on a triage guide tool used by the Portuguese Community-based Screening Network that helps those performing testing select in a fast and effective manner the indicated rapid test to apply in the context of integrated HIV/HBV/HCV/syphilis.

To watch the webinar, click here or copy paste the following address into your web browser: https://youtu.be/Oig0_qevKK0

May 2019

To help launch the 2019 Spring European Testing Week, EuroTEST and ETW hosted two free live webinars. These two webinars showcased testing experiences from Southern Europe and the United Kingdom.

The webinar, “High contribution, low public funding: Southern European Checkpoints' role in HIV detection in 4 countries,” was presented by Miguel Rocha of Grupo de Ativistas em Tratamentos (GAT)/CheckpointLX.

Miguel Rocha is a community health nurse working at GAT’s (treatment activists group) Portugal community-based sexual health centre for MSM – CheckpointLX – since 2012.

Miguel presented on how Checkpoints in Southern Europe have contributed to increases in testing uptake among MSM and diagnose HIV patients earlier than clinical services despite barriers in obtaining public funding.

To watch the webinar, click here or copy/paste the following address into your web browser: https://bit.ly/2OsZvBc

The webinar, “Introducing a free HIV self testing service: Terrence Higgins Trust’s experience offering HIV self test kits online,” was presented by Will Howells and Taku Mukiwa of Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).

Will Howells is Head of Digital and Taku Mukiwa is Head of Social Marketing at Terrence Higgins Trust (THT). THT is the leading HIV and sexual health charity in the UK and the largest voluntary sector provider of HIV and sexual health services, running services out of local centres across Great Britain.

Taku and Will presented on Terrence Higgins Trust’s experience of setting up and delivering a UK-based programme offering free HIV self-testing kits online to most at-risk communities.

To watch the webinar, click here or copy/paste the following address into your web browser: https://bit.ly/2ZdfLuf

After you have viewed the webinar, we would appreciate your feedback through a very short questionnaire. It will only take an estimated 5 minutes to complete: https://is.gd/SpringWebinars

Questions? Email us at eurotest.rigshospitalet@regionh.dk