St Vincent's HIV Lab improves testing & diagnosis amongst vulnerable populations
St Vincent's HIV Lab improves testing & diagnosis amongst vulnerable populations
31 Jan 2023
Commencing in 2016, the NSW Dry Blood Spot (DBS) Testing Pilot was launched to promote uptake of HIV and hepatitis C testing amongst at-risk groups across NSW.
With stigma and discrimination identified as a barrier to getting tested, as well as limited access to services in rural or remote areas, pathology, language and culture - key stakeholders in the space, including NSW Health, The Sydney Sexual Health Centre (SESHD), The Kirby Institute and the NSW HIV State Reference Library here at St Vincent’s, implemented a strategy to provide flexible models of care that are safe, private, non-invasive and confidential. Thus eliminating the need to present to a GP or sexual health clinic for testing, and elevating any associated stigma surrounding HIV and Hepatitis C screening.
Tailored to men who have sex with men, the pilot program provided a platform where people could easily request a DBS test for quick, at-home self-sampling. As the pilot progressed, assisted registration and DBS sample collection was also offered in 36 community health sites and 21 prisons across NSW.
At the time of mid-term evaluation, 8,696 DBS tests had been completed, resulting in 878 active hepatitis C and 10 new HIV infections diagnosed. Additionally, 50% of the people tested for HIV had not tested for two or more years, or never at all.
With early diagnosis key to effective treatment and transmission minimisation, the project is proving to have a highly beneficial impact. But there is still work to be done. The recently published mid-point evaluation of the program found that while the program reduces the number of clinic visits required for a diagnosis, improving linkage to care and treatment, elimination of Hepatitis C and HIV transmission is a long way off in Australia.
In 2020, there were 130,000 people living with an active hepatitis C infection and 2,610 people living with undiagnosed HIV across Australia. To achieve World Health Organisation goals of eliminating both Hepatitis C and HIV transmission by 2030, programs such as this one should be expanded to increase targeted testing, tailored to accommodate cultural and language barriers, and promote destigmatisation.
To read the full report, click here.
St Vincent's Applied Medical Research