Are there any differences in clinical care within your population group? Diana notes, "We have a diverse group because we are a family clinic. Each group, infants, children, pregnant women, adult women and men, have different clinical issues. Treating the whole family is complex and requires constant interaction with other team members."

Patient Education Materials: Diana notes, "I use various handouts for specific conditions that I developed myself."

In-house Nutrition Education Periodical: Ms. Johansen writes for the Positive Living Newsletter and the CATIE newsletter. 

Other: Diana teaches HIV-nutrition at the University of BC and gives annual AIDS Care Rounds on nutrition for the BC Centre of Excellence in HIV/AIDS. Ms. Johansen also presents her research on nutrition-related topics at conferences around the globe.

What was the most difficult issue you had to deal with when you started?  "The role of the dietitian was not developed or understood. It was necessary to prove that nutrition has an important role in HIV disease management and to demonstrate the broad range of nutritional intervention strategies."

Who is your best ally? “Initially the nurse clinician because she understood the role of the dietitian and believed that nutrition had an important place in HIV care. After eight years, everyone in the clinic team is an ally.”

What differences exist between current clientele and that of the HIV-positive person in the early 1980s? “We see more pregnant women, less infected infants, and more young women. The clientele is more diverse and the clinic sees more people who use street drugs. New issues like osteopenia, dyslipidemia, diabetes, obesity and lipodystrophy are now common.”

What have you found to be most useful in helping to keep up with the current research on nutrition and HIV?  Diana attends conferences in various locations and finds the Internet to be quite useful. She notes, "We have interdisciplinary continuing education sessions twice a month". She learns from those sessions as well.