HERO Center integrates HIV prevention and chemsex addiction treatment. By uniting Kaohsiung's resources, it offers psychological and medical support in a safe space, delivering one-stop holistic care.
Centered on "Treatment, Empowerment, and Recovery," the HERO Center is a friendly, professional, and integrated "one-stop" holistic care hub. It provides mind-body health services for the LGBTQ+ community, focusing on HIV prevention and chemsex harm reduction.
High-Accessibility "One-Stop Sexual Health Services"
Trusted by the LGBTQ+ community, this model enhances overall service efficiency:
HIV Screening: Increases testing volume and provides tailored prevention information to individual clients.
HIV Prevention: Promotes PrEP/PEP usage to lower infection rates and prevent HIV transmission within the community.
HIV Treatment: Nearly 95% of HIV-positive clients receiving care have achieved stable viral suppression to undetectable levels, successfully reaching the U=U (Undetectable = Untransmittable) therapeutic goal.
Chemsex Harm Reduction & Psychological Support
Integrating the philosophy and practice of "De-addiction, Empowerment, and Recovery," the center delivers highly effective psychological support services:
Established dedicated chemsex psychiatric clinics.
Organizes chemsex support groups and support networks for the families of substance users.
Offers stress-relief and mental wellness courses to foster long-term recovery.
To fulfill the mission, practice the core values, and realize the vision of the HERO Center, the future service initiatives are outlined as follows:
Promotion of HIV Prevention
Integration of Chemsex Recovery Services
Linkage (Anonymous Screening, Health Education, Referral, Diagnosis, Psychiatry, and Public Health)
Community Activities (Local Community)
Gender-Friendly Medical Association
Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital Interdisciplinary Team Meetings
Outreach & Popularity
LINE@ Friends: Accumulated 679 users from Mar 2023 to July 31, 2025.
Group Visits: Hosted 48 sessions and 923 visitors between Jan 2024 and July 2025.
HIV Education & Outreach: Conducted 173 sessions from 2022 to July 2025:
Capacity Building: 85 sessions for medical teams (1,833 participants).
LGBTQ+ Venues: 112 anonymous screening sessions, serving 3,235 people.
Indigenous Communities: 17 screening & sexual health sessions across Kaohsiung, Pingtung, and Taitung.
Service Quality & Metrics
Chemsex Prevention Project: Partnered with the Health Bureau for sex therapy. As of Aug 2024, 12 cases were enrolled with 72 counseling sessions completed.
PrEP Performance: Under the 2025 CDC Integrated Service Plan for government-funded PrEP, our hospital ranked 1st in the Kaohsiung-Pingtung region (hospital group) with 252 enrolled cases.
One-Stop Anonymous Screening: Under the Taiwan CDC project, screening volumes were:
2023: 1,779 | 2024: 1,931 | Jan–July 2025: 1,738
Total (2023–July 2025): 5,448 screenings, detecting 14 HIV-positive cases (positivity rate: 0.26%).
Our hospital undertook the 2025 One-Stop Anonymous Rapid HIV Screening Project. As of July 31, 2025, the screening and detection metrics are as follows:
HIV Screening: 1,738 screenings performed, with 2 positive cases.
Syphilis Screening: 1,372 screenings performed, with 21 positive cases.
Hepatitis C Screening: 1,282 screenings performed, with 6 positive cases.
Through our multidisciplinary team's seamless care continuum—spanning health education, counseling, rapid testing, and immediate referral to outpatient clinics for treatment—we significantly mitigate the risk of disease re-transmission in the community.
Effectiveness of Group Psychotherapy for Chemsex Clients
In 2024, 40 group sessions (4 courses) were held for 23 clients. Demographics: Avg age 35.8±6.8. 15 HIV-positive (75%), 14 college grads. 11 had no mental health history; others had depression (7), anxiety (6), bipolar (1), or insomnia (5). 8 used no substances in 6 months; 18 active users used methamphetamine (90%).
Outcomes (14 eligible clients) decreased post-treatment:
PHQ-9: 7.71±4.86 to 6.5±4.75
GAD-7: 6.86±4.93 to 5.71±4.87
DASS-21 (Depression): 8.29±11.34 to 5.71±8.48
2025 H1 (6 new clients): PHQ-9 (12.8 to 8.5); GAD-7 (9.7 to 6.7). Conclusion: Group therapy positively impacts mental health, serving as a future reference.
HIV in Indigenous Rural Communities
8 health screening and education sessions in rural Taitung/Kaohsiung/Pingtung yielded 240 valid questionnaires.
Demographics: Female 148 (67.1%), Male 90 (37.5%), Non-binary 2 (0.8%). Age: 41-50 (27.1%), 31-40 (20.8%). College/Univ grads: 53.3%. Ethnicity: Han (47.5%), Paiwan (36.7%), Rukai (6.3%).
Insights: Residents have basic HIV prevention knowledge due to education and contact with Han populations. Those aged 41-90 are conservative, while those under 40 learned basic concepts/condom use at school.
Recommendation: Future outreach should enhance targeted health education and gender equality for gender-diverse individuals visible in the communities.
2024 HIV Patient Care Experience Survey
Based on the validated questionnaires (Ikeda DJ, 2019; Toh HS, 2023), 29 responses were collected from HIV-positive patients regarding their healthcare experiences:
100% Positive Rating ("Yes"): Clear health information, respectful treatment, friendly environment, adequate privacy/confidentiality, and sufficient time provided by healthcare providers.
Shared Decision-Making: 96.6% actively participated in their care and treatment decisions (3.4% No).
Perceived Discrimination: 37.9% felt discriminated against by healthcare providers or clinical staff (62.1% No).
Infectious Diseases Dept. / HERO Center Perception: 96.6% rated the staff as "Highly Friendly" and 3.4% as "Somewhat Friendly."
Other Medical Departments Perception: 93.1% reported experiencing differential treatment compared to non-infected patients when visiting other departments (6.9% No).
HERO "Happiness Flow" Pastel Art Group Activity Satisfaction
Across 8 sessions, a total of 81 satisfaction questionnaires were collected:
Course Materials: 80.2% Highly Satisfied, 18.5% Satisfied regarding sufficiency and practicality.
Instructor's Attitude: 87.5% Strongly Agree, 12.3% Agree that the instructor maintained a positive teaching attitude.
Teaching Methodology: 86.2% Strongly Agree, 13.0% Agree that the concepts were clear and easy to understand.
Time Management: 80.2% Strongly Agree, 11.4% Agree that the class time control was appropriate.
International Expert Acclaim & Publications
2019 | Visit by Prof. Jean-Michel Molina (France) Professor Jean-Michel Molina, a globally renowned French HIV expert pioneering the international promotion of PrEP, visited the HERO Center. Dr. Molina noted that even in France, HIV prevention institutions had not yet established such a comprehensive, "one-stop" service model that seamlessly integrates screening, treatment, prophylaxis, and group therapy under one roof.
2025 | Visit by Dr. Doan Thanh Tung (Vietnam) The center invited Dr. Doan Thanh Tung, an internationally recognized researcher in chemsex and mental health from Vietnam. Dr. Tung highly praised the center's model for directly linking medical care with specialized social work and group therapy tailored specifically to gender diversity and substance use backgrounds.
International Publications
StrongCarol. (2020.06). Chemsex program example from Taiwan. chemsex webinar organized by FHI360. United States.
Carol StrongKo, Yi-Wen Chen, Wen-Lan Chen, An-Chun Chung, Su-Ting Hsu, Shu-Yi Wei, Chia-Chi YenNai-Ying. (2020). HIV/STI and socio-behavioral profiles of men who have sex with men engaging sexualized drug use （SDU） behavior in an integrated chemsexcare service in Taiwan. 23 rd International AIDS Conference （AIDS 2020） Virtual.
