BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//132.216.98.100//NONSGML kigkonsult.se iCalcreator 2.20.4// BEGIN:VEVENT UID:20260828T061138EDT-3793o0af93@132.216.98.100 DTSTAMP:20260828T101138Z DESCRIPTION:Sahar Saeed\, PhD\n\nAssistant Professor |\n Dept of Public Heal th Sciences | Queen's University\n\nWHEN: Monday\, March 18\, 2024\, from 4 to 5 p.m.\n WHERE: Hybrid| 2001 McGill College\, Rm 1140 | Zoom\n Note: Sa har Saeed will be presenting in-person \n\nAbstract\n\nUrgent\, tailored\, and equitable action is needed to address the alarming rise in syphilis r ates in Canada. Syphilis is a curable infection\, yet systemic barriers ob struct access to effective interventions. Given the shift in epidemiology and the stark geographic disparities in resources\, there is no one-size-f its-all solution to this complex issue. Underserved communities–people who use drugs (PWUD)\, sex workers\, and people un(der)housed– face unique so cial and healthcare challenges that increase their vulnerability to syphil is infections and hinder their access to timely diagnosis and treatment. L ow-barrier interventions such as the use of point-of-care tests (POCT) out side traditional healthcare settings have been shown to be an effective st rategy for reaching underserved people living with hepatitis C and HIV. St ill\, there is a paucity of implementation and effectiveness studies for s imilar interventions for other sexually transmitted and blood-borne infect ions (STBBIs)\, particularly in non-urban\, rural and remote settings. I w ill present our latest findings of the Syphilis Point of Care Testing and Immediate Treatment Evaluation (SPRITE) study\, an innovative\, community- based partnership between five public health units in Ontario and Queen’s University.\n\nLearning Objectives\n\nBy the end of this session\, attende es will:\n\n\n Understand the epidemiological trends of syphilis in Canada\ ;\n Appreciate the utility of point-of-care testing to mitigate the transmi ssion of infectious syphilis\;\n Recognize the critical role of public heal th partnerships and community-based engagement in implementation science r esearch\n\n\nSpeaker Bio\n\nSahar Saeed is an Assistant Professor in the D epartment of Public Health Sciences at Queen's University and the Principa l Investigator of the EPIX Lab. She received her Ph.D. in Epidemiology fro m McGill University (2019) and completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Imp lementation Science at Washington University in St. Louis (2022). Her rese arch interests lie at the intersection of policy evaluation\, health outco me disparities\, and knowledge translation. As an epidemiologist and healt h services researcher\, Sahar leverages innovative methods and data to stu dy population-level health inequalities among marginalized populations. Si nce 2016\, her research has consistently been funded by the Canadian Insti tutes of Health Research (CIHR)\, and she has published more than 50 paper s.\n DTSTART:20240318T200000Z DTEND:20240318T210000Z SUMMARY:Breaking Barriers: Expanding Syphilis Point-of-Care Testing and Imm ediate Treatment to Meet the Needs of Underserved Communities URL:https://www.mcgill.ca/epi-biostat-occh/channels/event/breaking-barriers -expanding-syphilis-point-care-testing-and-immediate-treatment-meet-needs- 355386 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR