Isabelle, Martin, Marc and Geneviève are just some of the virtual peers that HIV patients can reach out to as they struggle to adhere to their antiretroviral programs. The characters were created to help people living with HIV to optimize their treatment, as part of a new virtual clinic that's under study at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal.
The unique, innovative and user-friendly Web program is entitled VIH-TAVIE, which stands for nurse-assisted, HIV treatment and teaching for life. VIH-TAVIE provides support on how to best integrate treatment into one's lifestyle – at a restaurant or while travelling, for instance – and dealing with the significant side-effects of HIV drugs. The program also provides support to patients who are confronted with life-changing trials and tribulations, not to mention questioning and anxiety that may result from therapy.
Since they began testing the program, study participants have stressed they have gained the upper hand on their condition. "I really have the impression that I have more control over taking my meds," says William Christopher Price.
“Although HIV treatments have saved their lives, integrating antiretroviral drugs into a strict timetable can become a long-term challenge, restricting and demanding. Many people get discouraged and feel powerless about the changes in their lives," says José Côté, a researcher at the CRCHUM, principal researcher for the VIH-TAVIE project and holder of the Chair on new nursing practices at the Université de Montréal.
Considering the incidence and prevalence of chronic health problems and their impacts on health services, new ways of delivering care such as VIH-TAVIE can provide added value to existent services and an alternative to managing treatment.
The original nature of VIH-TAVIE is how the program interacts with users and differs from comparable Web applications where interaction is minimal. Both the virtual and the real nurse and study coordinator (who are one in the same), Geneviève Rouleau, provide feedback and positive reinforcement to patients during online sessions. The virtual assistant, as personified by the nurse, engages patients in the development of self-management skills for their antiretroviral therapy.
The VIH-TAVIE application was developed by Yann-Gaël Guéhéneuc of the École Polytechnique, the Université de Montréal's affiliated engineering school, with the Multimedia Service of the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal.
Partners in research:
The VIH-TAVIE project is supported by the Fonds de recherché en santé du Québec and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
On the Web:
- About the Université de Montréal Faculté of Nursing
- About the École Polytechnique
- About the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal
- To view a Forum en clips report
Media contact:
Nathalie Forgue
Communications Advisor
Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal
Telephone : 514 890-8000, ext. 14342
