Access to healthcare should not depend on whether someone has a smartphone. Yet for many people experiencing homelessness, poverty, substance use, criminalization, or other forms of marginalization, the inability to stay connected creates significant barriers to care. Test, Link, Call (TLC) is an innovative public health initiative that removes those barriers by combining digital connectivity with peer support, helping people access testing, treatment, and ongoing care for Hepatitis C (HCV), Hepatitis B (HBV), HIV, or syphilis.
The Opportunity
HCV, HBV, HIV, and syphilis remain significant public health challenges in British Columbia and across Canada. While effective testing and treatment options exist, many people affected by these conditions face substantial barriers to accessing healthcare services. These barriers are often driven by intersecting determinants of health, including poverty, unstable housing, substance use, stigma, discrimination, criminalization, and the ongoing impacts of colonialism.
For many people, something as simple as a smartphone can determine whether they are able to receive test results, book appointments, communicate with healthcare providers, attend virtual visits, or stay connected to treatment. As healthcare systems have increasingly adopted digital tools and virtual care models, the absence of reliable smartphone access has become an important barrier to care for many equity-deserving populations.
People who use drugs, people who are criminalized, people experiencing homelessness or unstable housing, and many Indigenous community members are disproportionately affected by these barriers. Too often, individuals fall through the gaps of a healthcare system that was not designed around their realities.
The Solution
Led by Dr Sofia Bartlett at the BC Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC), Test, Link, Call is a community-centred program designed to eliminate barriers to care and treatment for people living with, or at risk of, hepatitis, HIV, and syphilis.
Participants receive a smartphone and phone plan for an initial six-month period, and retain the phone after completing the program. More importantly, they are connected to peer navigators who provide personalized support, help create care plans, facilitate appointments, connect participants with services, and assist people in navigating often-complex health and social systems.
The smartphones are loaded with resources that support health and wellness, including overdose prevention tools, mental health supports, and culturally relevant resources for Indigenous participants. They are not only connected to healthcare services, but also to housing supports, employment resources, substance use services, and community programs that can support broader well-being.
At its core, TLC is about meeting people where they are. It recognizes that successful healthcare requires more than simply making treatment available. It requires creating trusted pathways that help people access and stay connected to care.
The Impact
The results have been remarkable.
During its initial implementation, TLC achieved treatment uptake rates exceeding 80%, more than double what is typically achieved within the populations being served. Today, over 90% of participants remain engaged in treatment, demonstrating the effectiveness of combining digital access, peer support, and community-based care.
Participants consistently report improved communication with healthcare providers and easier access to health and social services. The smartphones help people receive test results, connect to care teams, attend appointments, and maintain continuity in treatment.
The impact extends well beyond healthcare. Participants report using their smartphones to secure housing, explore employment opportunities, maintain recovery supports, access emergency services, and reconnect with family and loved ones. For many, having reliable connectivity creates opportunities to rebuild relationships and strengthen social connections that contribute to long-term health and wellness.
The program has also saved lives. Participants have used overdose prevention applications and emergency response tools available through their smartphones to access immediate support during overdose events and other health crises.
What began as an intervention aimed at improving access to testing and treatment has evolved into a model that demonstrates how trust, dignity, connection, and community support can transform health outcomes.
The People Behind the Project
Dr Sofia Bartlett
Test, Link, Call is led by Dr Sofia Bartlett, Interim Scientific Director of Clinical Prevention Services at the BC Centre for Disease Control. Dr Bartlett is recognized for her work in infectious disease epidemiology, harm reduction, health equity, and community-based healthcare models.
Under her leadership, TLC has grown from a promising pilot project into a province-wide program that is helping redefine how care is delivered to populations who have historically faced barriers accessing healthcare services. Her commitment to culturally safe, trauma-informed, and evidence-based approaches has helped shape TLC into one of British Columbia’s most innovative public health initiatives.
Peer Navigators and Community Partners
A defining strength of TLC is the central role played by peer navigators and community organizations. Individuals with lived and living experience provide mentorship, advocacy, education, and practical support that helps participants engage in care and remain connected to treatment.
One of the program’s foundational partners is Unlocking the Gates Service Society, whose peer navigators bring lived experience navigating healthcare, substance use, housing insecurity, and the justice system. Their involvement helps build trust and strengthens the program’s ability to reach people who may otherwise avoid or disengage from traditional healthcare settings.
Today, TLC works alongside more than 30 health, community, and service organizations across British Columbia, creating a collaborative network focused on improving access to care and reducing health inequities.
Indigenous Leadership and Learning
Approximately half of TLC participants identify as Indigenous, highlighting the importance of ensuring the program is responsive to Indigenous experiences, priorities, and ways of knowing.
To support this work, the project has launched an Indigenous-led evaluation grounded in a Two-Eyed Seeing framework. Through an Indigenous Guiding Circle involving Indigenous participants, people with lived and living experience, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, care providers, and researchers, the team is exploring how the program can better serve Indigenous participants while strengthening cultural safety and relevance.
This important next phase reflects a commitment to learning directly from communities and ensuring that future program development is guided by Indigenous leadership, lived experience, and relational accountability.
Why Philanthropy Matters
Test, Link, Call has demonstrated that a relatively simple intervention can have a profound impact on people’s lives. By providing phones, trusted support, and connections to care, the program is helping people access treatment, improve their health, and build stronger connections to community.
Philanthropic support has been instrumental in proving that this model works. It has enabled the program to innovate, gather evidence, and reach individuals who might otherwise remain disconnected from healthcare and social services.
As TLC continues to grow, the opportunity extends beyond expanding access to more participants. The lessons generated through the program are helping shape broader conversations about healthcare access, digital inclusion, and health equity. The Indigenous-led evaluation and growing body of evidence offer an opportunity to influence how healthcare and social service systems understand connectivity, continuity of care, and community-centred support.
By supporting Test, Link, Call, donors are investing in a proven model that improves health outcomes, strengthens communities, and helps ensure that people who have historically been left behind can access the care, treatment, and support they deserve.
Please contact fundraising@pphf.ca to learn more about supporting Test, Link, Call and other innovative public health initiatives.