Meet the 2022 Healthcare Provider Champions - East Asia and Pacific
Dr Kee nominated Dr Alfred Yao-Wai Sit for:
As a medical and health officer stationed at the Hong Kong Department of Health's Red Ribbon Centre, Dr Alfred Sit is a committed and passionate medical doctor who has devoted himself to the response to HIV and AIDS in Hong Kong. More specifically, he has organized many HIV and AIDS research projects. These include PRISM “HIV Prevalence and Risk behavioural Survey of Men who have sex with men in Hong Kong” and HARIS “HIV and AIDS Response Indicator Survey 2020 for Men who have Sex with Men”, important baseline studies to understand the HIV epidemic in Hong Kong. He ran a programme on HIV self-testing recently and has assisted in the production of many HIV- and AIDS-related awareness videos. I have known Alfred for five years. He has deep insight into HIV and AIDS in Hong Kong. His work has focused our attention on the trans community, the elderly and the mental health of sexual minorities.
Dr Alfred Yao-Wai Sit: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
People in my generation were aware of AIDS during their childhood because of the government’s many TV campaigns that were always presented in a gloomy way. My first memory of AIDS was a TV news report in which the Chinese translation of AIDS meant “a disease grown from love”. As a child, I did not understand what this meant, but I knew that it was something taboo.
AIDS became a common joke theme although we never really understood what it was. During my adolescence, we started getting more public information about HIV and AIDS, but my school never taught us anything about it. Occasionally, there were reports in the newspaper, which was the only source of information for me. Even in medical school, there was not much teaching about it because people living with HIV were still relatively rare in my city at that time.
The turning point for me was when a friend told me he had HIV in 2010. I started to search for information on the internet. HIV was no longer a disease in a book; it was real. I realized that HIV was not rare when more friends who were living with HIV told me about their status. They always feared letting others know about their status because of the social stigma.
As a doctor working in the public health field, I have been fortunate to work in the government HIV unit since 2015, where I can conduct a lot of projects that help me understand more about the needs of people living with HIV and, most importantly, their thoughts. These projects include community surveys targeting minority populations and targeted health promotion.
In this government unit, I have been able to collaborate with a lot of non-governmental organizations that work with sexual minorities, sex workers and people who use drugs. Doing so gave me much insight into how to plan and implement projects with sensitivity to clients’ needs. In the COVID-19 pandemic, we are working together to assist many people living with HIV who are not able to obtain their antiretrovirals via their usual source. Until the day that HIV becomes curable, I will support people living with and affected by HIV.
* To protect the identity of the nominator, a pseudonym is used.
Eris Lau Sun Sun nominated Dr Tam Barry for:
Dr Tam is knowledgeable about his profession and passionate about helping his clients. He is also a great asset for the Hong Kong AIDS Foundation, giving professional advice about working with people living with HIV.
Dr Tam Barry: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
Dr Tam Barry is a clinical psychologist working in a public hospital in Hong Kong and has served people living with HIV since 2016. He did his clinical training at University College London, which has a long history of fighting for equality. He completed his thesis with Prof Narinder Kapur, a renowned clinical neuropsychologist in the UK. Barry’s neuropsychology background motivated him to become a keen advocate of awareness of HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND) and ageing with HAND. Promoting hospital-community partnerships, Barry has been involved in HIV-related awareness raising activities for staff and service users in local charities across Hong Kong since 2019.
In treatment, Barry draws on a range of psychological models, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and psychodynamic theory. Barry completed post-graduate training in systemic therapy. His work with people living with HIV was greatly influenced by ideas from narrative therapy, which advocates the understanding of self as a product through relationships. Barry often questions the process by which people come to describe and explain the world. He invites people living with HIV to negotiate relationships with themselves and others, especially challenging the discourses of stigma that might have come to dominate their life stories. Apart from providing support at the individual level, Barry started the first psychological screening clinic for people living with HIV attending public hospitals in Hong Kong in 2017; particularly, this involves identifying and working with people facing disclosure issues given HIV-related stigma.
Barry was also involved in supporting people living with HIV suffering from progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy. He saw significant discrimination in community are homes, which put people living with HIV in an unfavourable situation after being discharged from hospital. This further strengthened his commitment to promoting inclusivity in care homes, inspiring him to recently join a local charity as an executive board member.
Chen nominated Kristy Chan Nga Ki for:
I was diagnosed with HIV a few years ago and it led to several physical and mental problems for me. At the same time, I had an oesophagus infection and had to rely on liquid food for a long time. Because of that, I was too weak to run my business and it was forced to close. For all these reasons, I was emotionally down and lost hope.
Eventually, I turned to drugs to escape. Taking crystal meth helped me escape. I didn’t feel the loneliness and ache after I took it. However, I became addicted to the drug and became aggressive and withdrawn. There was no hope for the future.
I met Ms Kristy Chan after being transferred from the hospital to PS33 Counselling Service for Psychotropic Substance Abusers. A social worker arranged my first meeting with Kristy. She had an evaluation of my case and provided detailed suggestions about my health condition. Also, Kristy introduced me to various medical services that are friendly to men who have sex with men, including psychiatric services, dentists and practitioners of Chinese medicine. Kristy was always at my side when I visited the doctor to make sure that I got proper treatment.
Kristy is cheerful, friendly and patient. She notes my progress every time I visit the doctor. She is non-judgemental about my sexual orientation, medical condition and drug abuse. She answers my questions patiently and professionally. Apart from medical things, she also listens to my daily hassles and encourages me to self-reflect. Her smile makes me relax and I can talk freely in front of her.
All of this has helped me get away from drug abuse and rebuild my confidence. With Kristy’s help, I am receiving regular medical treatment. For now, my mental status, HIV status and substance abuse are under control. It looks like life is no longer dull.
I nominate Kristy as a Me and My Healthcare Provider because she is different from conventional medical providers: she is my nurse, my counsellor and my peer.
Kristy Chan Nga Ki: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
When I first engaged in services for psychotropic drug abusers as a registered nurse, I thought HIV transmission was only common among heroin users via injection. As I started to learn about the “chem fun” culture (use of psychotropic drugs during sexual activities) among men who have sex with men in Hong Kong, I realized that many often gave up protection under the influence of drugs or peer pressure, and HIV acquisition was often a consequence.
The turning point for me was listening to a client sharing, in tears, that he was abandoned by his boyfriend, a psychiatrist, after he was diagnosed with HIV. Each time he attended the HIV clinic, he felt overwhelmed by the “identity” of having HIV and he then indulged in “chem fun”. I realized that he was discriminated against not only by his loved ones, but also, most hurtfully, by himself. I could not imagine the pain and shame people living under the labels of HIV and drug abuse have been bearing. My colleagues and I have always strived to create a warm and HIV-friendly atmosphere and to let people feel loved and fully accepted.
* To protect the identity of the nominator, a pseudonym is used.
Timothy Wong nominated Dr Man-Po Lee for:
Dr Lee is an experienced responsible, and considerate medical professional who shows his full love and care when seeing clients who are living with HIV.
Dr Man-Po Lee: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
Dr Lee leads a multidisciplinary care team aiming at providing an integrated and quality treatment and care service for people living with HIV in Hong Kong. The team’s antiretroviral drug adherence programme is tailored to the needs of people living with HIV.
In the past couple of years, Dr Lee has developed many new services to meet the evolving needs of people living with HIV. These include a multidisciplinary programme for people ageing with HIV, the Women and Reproductive Health Clinic, mental health services and harm reduction counselling for substance abuse and chemsex, and a comprehensive sexual health service. Dr Lee and his team have recently published a storybook about people living with HIV 「愛‧生命；說‧故事」, aimed at reducing stigma and building a better understanding of HIV by the general public.
As President, Dr Lee leads and coordinates HKSHM to support and promote the concept of undetectable equals untransmittable (U=U) locally. Its U=U campaign started in 2020, targeted at people living with HIV, their partners and the public, through various platforms, including social media.
WuZongTai-YoYo nominated Ling-Ya, Chen for:
I nominated Ling-Ya because I hope I am not the only one who is so lucky to meet her. Everyone who is in need should meet her. Ling-Ya and I were friends before I found that I was living with HIV. She treats me as a "normal person", equal to others. She does not take pity on me, but treats me with an attitude that makes me feel that I am still the same person in her eyes even after I was diagnosed with HIV.
In my opinion, my healthcare provider acts with intentional care for people living with HIV and without the discrimination of HIV by the general public and even the medical system, which upset me.
I can recall once, at midnight, I was feeling uncomfortable and anxious, and vomiting due to the side-effects of my new medicine. Then I called Ling-Ya. She calmed me down, patiently.
After many years, I have been through many medicine adjustments, which gave me different side-effects, including diarrhoea. But apart from vomiting from time to time, I feel that I am much better. It has been more than 10 years since I was diagnosed. I am just a normal person with a disease. I got back to my job and I have a relationship with my partner.
Ling-Ya, Chen: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
I did the right thing because I know we still have a long way to go to eliminate the stigma.
Cooper nominated Jhang Jheng-Syue, Chen for:
I nominated A Syueh because he helped me share my story with those who want to know more about people living with HIV.
I was put last in line for an abdominal ultrasound examination due to being a person living with HIV.
I had got to my appointment early and asked at the front desk if I could have my examination first. But the nurse asked, “Do you know what disease you carry?”
“I know, I am HIV positive,” I said to her. And then she said, “According to our internal policy, the patient who carries HIV has to be the last one in the examination sequence.”
“Why?” I asked. “Because we have to sanitize the whole machine after you use it,” she said.
I thought, I am no different from others before or after the treatment. Why does a person living with HIV have to be the last one examined? I reported this to my case manager, who communicated with the examination staff. The first reply was that I need to wait till last. But I said if that was the case, I would not do it and leave the facility. So, I was moved up the queue.
I had never thought that the medical system would discriminate against me. I told A Syueh about the incident. He said, "You're not the first one to encounter this kind of thing." I wondered, if I was not the first, would I have to tackle this kind of situation every time I saw a doctor?
I applied to become a library's collection of life stories in the New Taipei City Human Library because I wanted to share my story. But the librarian asked me for my real name and portrait photo. I did not want to supply that.
A Syueh and I then wrote a letter to the mayor's office. The librarian contacted us and asked us if we could have a meeting to let people know more about my story. After that meeting, the library accepted me to become their collection of life stories and let more people know about the story of people living with HIV.
Jhang Jheng-Syue: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
I want to reduce and address the problems between people living with HIV and the medical system.
The reason why I keep helping those in need is that if people living with HIV have any unpleasant experience in the medical system or someone gets badly treated, that could become an obstacle when they should see a doctor.
* To protect the identity of the nominator, a pseudonym is used.
Jason nominated Lee Peifen for:
When I was in my third year of college, I was diagnosed with HIV in a hospital in Kaohsiung. I returned to Taiwan after working in Europe, and I met Lee Peifen after transferring from Kaohsiung to Taipei. I have been with Lee Peifen through drugs, traumatic lows and Mackay Hospital physicians.
During the COVID-19 period, a friend was listed as a direct contact of someone who was diagnosed with COVID-19 and I was an indirect contact. That meant that PCR could not be done under Taiwan's COVID-19 testing policy at that time, and I worried all night. If I was diagnosed with COVID-19, I would buy a quick screening test for myself, and if the result was suspected to be confirmed, I would call the Health Bureau and send it to Yadong Hospital. The PCR result was positive, and someone took me directly to the isolation ward. This person said, "You have been diagnosed and need to be admitted to a negative pressure isolation ward.” But I had nothing on me, not even HIV drugs.
I contacted Lee Peifen, who immediately helped me approach Yadong Hospital's supervisor. The result was that I did not have to interrupt my HIV medication. She protected my privacy and I could get the HIV treatment medicine without any explanation.
After I was discharged, Taiwan was still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many hospitals adopted strict control policies. I could not go back to Mackay Hospital to see a doctor. Lee Peifen approached Yadong Hospital to arrange for provision of 10 days of HIV drugs. I also used video chat to see the doctor in the follow up and had the HIV medicine sent to my house.
Lee Peifen has certainly helped a lot of people. If I call Lee Peifen, she replies within a day.
Lee Peifen: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
Caregivers quickly integrate what assistance the person needs and what strategy to use to assist the person.
Many of my clients are young people, and most of them can find information on their own. In 2021, I managed a total of more than 1,000 people living with HIV. I manage clients in a cooperative way: I manage the client, and the client manages their virus.
Taiwanese NGOs, the infectious disease team, the Taiwan AIDS Society and the CDC have a lot of support and enthusiasm. It is thanks to the efforts of various groups in Taiwanese society that I am able to properly manage my clients.
* To protect the identity of the nominator, a pseudonym is used.
Gao Yu Chi nominated Jhong An Jyun for:
I was diagnosed with HIV in 2007 and have been using chemsex for quite a while. In 2016, I learned about a Kaohsiung local harm reduction NGO through a nurse's recommendation, and then I met Dan.
At first, I thought he was also a chemsex user like me because he was so filled with laughter and energy. I finally realized that he is one of the organizers of the NGO. He is always a friend of our community, which means that he can observe and support us and make it easier for us to accept who we are.
Jhong An Jyun: I am #DoingTheRightThing because…
I found that not only chemsex users and people living with HIV need companions and support. The helping professionals need it, too. For example, I personally have been helped and inspired by David Stuart.
I can see in our community that many friends are both living with HIV and facing a chemsex dilemma. A harm reduction group provides proof that they are trying to help themselves.
If someone really wants to call what I have done for Yuki "help", then I would put all that effort into our diverse community, which is created by many groups that let us be who we truly are.