Positive Prevention

What is positive prevention? From the point of view of HIV+ people, the traditional terms for prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary) become unclear. Secondary prevention can mean identification of those infected to prevent further infections, or it can mean provision of support to HIV+ people to develop and maintain risk reduction behaviours. Prevention for positives implies that something is done to or imposed on HIV+ people. The Prevention Sub-Committee of the BC Persons with AIDS Society prefers the term 'positive prevention' because it conveys a sense of ownership and direction by people living with HIV. Prevention efforts previously had been directed almost only towards educating HIV negative people about risk behaviours and the issues faced by HIV+ people were rarely considered. Positive prevention seeks to maximize the physical, mental and sexual health of HIV+ individuals, providing them with the necessary foundation for maintaining safer behaviours.