HIV i-Base

Institutional records from HIV i-Base, an information service for individuals living with HIV/AIDS, including: administrative records, records from HIV i-Base information service (email and phone logs), grant and funding papers; accreditation and membership papers; papers from conferences and meetings; DVDs and CDs collected by HIV i-Base, T-Shirts and a bag collected from HIV/AIDS conferences, and other collected publications.

2000s

25 boxes

HIV i-Base is a treatment activist group established in April 2000 to provide timely and up to date HIV information to HIV positive people and health care professionals. The aim of the organisation is to encourage and empower people living with HIV to take an active role in their own health, by providing information, support and advice.

The organisation was set up by the former publications, editorial and meetings team from the AIDS Treatment Project, London, and co-established by Simon Collins and Polly Clayden. Simon Collins edits HIV Treatment Bulletin (HTB) and is responsible for producing the i-Base treatment guides. He also manages the treatment information services, runs treatment workshops and develops community engagement with medical research. Polly Clayden edits HIV Treatment Bulletin South and divides her work between the UK and projects in southern Africa. Polly's main HIV advocacy area is in women's and paediatric health. The organisation is run by a small and committed team of advocates and other staff; many on a part term basis.

HIV i-Base run an enquiry service by phone, email and online, for individuals diagnosed with or affected by HIV/Aids. In a year, the enquiry service receives around 8,000 individual requests from across the world and 500,000 website visitors a month.

HIV i-Base produce and update technical and non-technical publications for both healthcare workers and individuals with HIV/Aids. All resources are produced by and with the involvement of HIV positive people and are reviewed by a medical advisory group. Technical HIV Treatment Bulletins (HTB) are sent to 5,000 health care workers in the UK every two months.

HIV i-Base strives to make its information accessible, up-to-date and easy to read. To do so, its treatment guides are regularly revised and translated into over 35 languages. These guides use non-technical language so that more people can easily understand the information. They are freely available (copyright-free) online, with print copies free to individuals and UK-based clinics and support groups. Over 40,000 guides are sent free to UK clinics each year. Low-text pocket leaflets are also produced, with 30,000 sent free to UK clinics. HIV i-Base also provide guidelines for other organisations on how to write non-technical medical information. A key principle is that 'information should be clear to read and easy to understand. It should be easy to read for as many people as possible'.

In addition to publishing information and responding to individual enquiries, HIV i-Base give workshops and talks to community groups, spending around half of their time work with the UK-CAB Steering Group to support the network of over 900 advocates in the UK. The organisation also support work with international organisations including Treatment Action Campaign in South Africa and the Southern African HIV Clinician's Society.

In the report Why we must provide HIV treatment information, Simon Collins' is quoted: "What is the role of HIV-positive people in treatment literacy and peer advocacy? The experience of being a patient is often just as important as medical training. Patients are highly motivated. They want to live… You get better health outcomes from greater involvement of people in their health care."

The archive demonstrates the way in which information was gathered, annotated, synthesised, used and shared, combining original sources such as conference books and posters, publications from a network of other activist groups (many from outside the UK), and internal records which show how information and advice was transmitted to individuals.

Information compiled from HIV i-Base website: http://i-base.info/about-us/ Accurate as of Jan 2020.

Digital records and publications to be transferred at a later date.

This collection is currently uncatalogued and cannot be ordered online. Requests to view uncatalogued material are considered on a case by case basis. Please contact collections@wellcomecollection.org for more details.

Records acquired from HIV i-Base offices in Tower Bridge. Further accruals expected.