Underpinning the ambitions of Fast Track Cymru is the focus on engaging and empowering communities, and collecting and understanding data to drive innovation and improvements in services. Fast Track coalitions in Wales aim to map all existing data and make sure it is put to use in the most effective way. We also direct the collection of new data and develop our understanding of attitudes and issues relating to data capture across organisations.
You can read about our Research & Evaluation Strategy here, or you could visit our page on past and present Research & Evaluation Projects here.
Our most recent reports and resources are free and available to download.
Wales HIV Testing Week 2024: process evaluation
We presented our data from the Wales HIV Testing Week campaign we run in partnership with Public Health Wales – at BHIVA 2025
Authors: Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli; Sarah Maslen; Ms Lisa Power; Mrs Zoe Couzens; Dr Adam D N Williams; Dr David Gillespien; Dr Jonathan Underwood; Dr Darren Cousins.
Stop HIV Stigma Campaign 2024: Process Evaluation and Impact Report
This short report evaluates the campaign to assess its effectiveness, delivery, and outcomes.
Authors: Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli
Wales HIV Testing Week 2023: report
We presented our data from the Wales HIV Testing Week campaign we run in partnership with Public Health Wales – at BHIVA 2024
Authors: Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli; Ms Lisa Power; Mrs Zoe Couzens; Dr Adam D N Williams; Dr David Gillespien; Dr Jonathan Underwood; Dr Darren Cousins.
Living Well with HIV in Wales.
Cost-effective ways that the Welsh Government can support living well with HIV.
Texting 4 Testing 2022/23: report
Impact and experiences of offering HIV testing across a whole city population through primary care clusters and GP surgeries in the Texting 4 Testing (T4T) project
Authors: Lisa Power; David Gillespie; Darren Cousins; Zsanett Lukács; Alessandro Ceccarelli; Zoë Couzens; Lucy Wynne.
The Gilead HIV Knowledge Survey Results were released at the BHIVA Spring Conference – at BHIVA 2024. The data collection was promoted in partnership with Fast Track Cymru.
Read the poster HERE.
Peer Support for People Living with HIV in Wales: Scoping and Feasibility
You can read and download the paper here.
The report explores factors impacting the development of Peer Support for PLWH in Wales.
Authors: Sue Channon, Adam DN Williams, Carlos EA Alvarado, & David Gillespie.
Experiences of Stigma Associated with PrEP
Psychometric Properties of an Adapted Stigma Scale and Experiences of Stigma Associated with HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis Use Among Men Who have Sex with Men: A Mixed Methods Study.
Authors: David Gillespie, Adam Williams 2, Fiona Wood, Zoë Couzens, Adam Jones, Richard Ma, Marijn de Bruin, Dyfrig A Hughes, Kerenza Hood.
We present an evaluation of the impact of a volunteer-produced and community-led strategy to promote HIV testing as part of Wales HIV Testing Week 2022 – with minimal funding and much goodwill.
Authors: Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli; Ms Lisa Power; Mr Adam D N Williams; Mrs Zoe Couzens; Dr David Gillespien; Dr Jonathan Underwood; Dr Darren Cousins.
You can read and download the paper here.
Authors: Dr Alessandro Ceccarelli; Ms Lisa Power; Mrs Zoe Couzens; Dr Jonathan Underwood; Dr Darren Cousins
You can read and download the paper here.
Authors: David Gillespie, Adam Williams, Fiona Wood, Zoë Couzens, Adam Jones, Richard Ma, Marijn de Bruin, Dyfrig Hughes, Kerenza Hood
An evaluation of the GP-facilitated HIV home testing pilot in the Cardiff City & South GP cluster
Widening access to HIV testing is an effective approach to meet the goal of zero new HIV transmissions by 2030. This pilot aimed to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of GP-facilitated HIV home testing, in collaboration with Cardiff City & South GP cluster. Read the report here.
In this study, 60 PrEP users were recruited from four sexual health clinics across Wales and followed over a 9 month period. Their PrEP use and sexual behaviour data were collected on a daily basis and these were analysed to estimate how people across Wales were taking PrEP. The study occurred around the start of the COVID-19 pandemic so also looked at whether pandemic-restrictions were associated with changes in how PrEP was used.
In this study, 21 PrEP users across Wales were interviewed about their experiences of taking PrEP in order to understand why and how people take PrEP and what support may be useful for PrEP users.
Peer Support for People Living with HIV in Wales: Scoping and Feasibility
Utilise the experiences and views of service users and providers, alongside the research evidence, to identify factors impacting the development of Peer Support for PLWH in Wales.
Public Perceptions of Sexual Health Services in Wales
You can read the full report published in November 2021 here.
This report by Adam Williams sets out the findings from the survey exploring the public opinions of the current name Frisky Wales and future sexual health services that could be provided within Wales.
All Wales Postal Testing Evaluation
The All Wales Postal Testing Evaluation was commissioned by Public Health Wales and undertaken by Adam Williams from Cardiff University.
The report evaluates the Postal Testing Service (Frisky Wales) developed in response to clinic closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. You can read the full report here.
Bringing Fast Track Cities to Cardiff & Vale and to Wales
You can read the full report published in November 2019 here.
This report examines three key questions: how many people access care for their HIV; the issues of late diagnosis of HIV infection in this region; and what we know about HIV-related stigma in Wales.
The overall aim of our Research & Evaluation Strategy is to contribute to the creation of a learning system which makes the use of local relevant data a core value, linked to international evidence to deliver a pathway towards the Paris Declaration goals for 2030.
Download the Fast Track Cardiff Research Strategy 2021-25 here (PDF).
Authors: Gillespie D, Knapper C, Hughes D, Couzens Z, Wood F, de Bruin M, Ma R, Jones AT, Williams A, Hood K.
Journal: Sexually Transmitted Infections. 2020 Sep 23;97(2):85-7.
In November 2020 we published the results of our Getting to Zero Survey. You can read the full report here.
Findings from the survey project developed to explore what people from key groups think of the current services in Cardiff & Vale, what improvements they would suggest and any experiences of stigma they have faced.
Fast Track Cymru 