Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress 2023 EHA Congress 2023 ASCO Annual Meeting
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The ONWARDS insulin icodec trials

A round-up of the ONWARDS phase 3 clinical trials evaluating the novel weekly insulin icodec in people with diabetes.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
BMC Health Services Research
Published in: BMC Health Services Research 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Increasing HIV testing among hard-to-reach groups: examination of RAPID, a community-based testing service in Queensland, Australia

Authors: Allyson J. Mutch, Chi-Wai Lui, Judith Dean, Limin Mao, Jime Lemoire, Joseph Debattista, Chris Howard, Andrea Whittaker, Lisa Fitzgerald

Published in: BMC Health Services Research | Issue 1/2017

Login to get access

Abstract

Background

The success of ‘treatment as prevention’ (TasP) to control HIV relies on the uptake of testing across priority population groups. Innovative strategies including; rapid HIV testing (RHT) in community and outreach settings, engaging peer service providers, and not requiring disclosure of sexual history have been designed to increase access. This paper reports on the implementation of ‘RAPID’, a community-based testing program in Queensland, Australia that employs these strategies to increase access to testing.

Methods

Service data, including client registration forms and a satisfaction survey from all clients attending RAPID between August 2014 and July 2015 were analysed.

Results

In 2014/2015 1,199 people attended RAPID to receive a free HIV test. The majority were urban-based gay men. 17.1% were first-time testers and 20.1% of participants were not eligible to access Medicare, Australia’s universal health care scheme.

Conclusions

RAPID’s evidence-based strategies appear to facilitate access to HIV testing, particularly among those who have never tested before; however the implications for the ongoing treatment and care of people ineligible for Medicare, who test positive to HIV warrants careful consideration.
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Literature
1.
Kretzschmar M, Schim van der Loeff M, Birrell P, De Angelis D, Coutinho R. Prospects of elimination of HIV with test-and-treat strategy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2013;110(39):15538–1543.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
2.
3.
UNAIDS. 90-90-90 An ambitious treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); 2014.
4.
Montaner JG, Lima VD, Harrigan PR, Lourenco L, Yip B, Nosyk B, et al. Expansion of HAART coverage is associated with sustained decreases in HIV/AIDS morbidity, mortality and HIV transmission: the “HIV treatment as prevention” experience in a Canadian setting. PLOS ONE. 2014;9(2):e87872.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
5.
Ogbuagu O, Bruce RD. Reaching the unreached: treatment as prevention as a workable strategy to mitigate HIV and its consequences in high-risk groups. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2014;11(4):505–12.CrossRefPubMed
6.
Flowers P, Knussen C, Li J, McDaid L. Has testing been normalized? An analysis of changes in barriers to HIV testing among men who have sex with men between 2000 and 2010 in Scotland. UK HIV Med. 2013;14(2):92–8.CrossRefPubMed
7.
Mao L, Holt M, De Wit J. HIV and STI Testing among gay men. In: De Wit J, Mao L, Adam PCG, Treloar C, editors. Annual report of trends in behaviour 2014 HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia Sydney. Australia: Centre for Social Research in Health, UNSW; 2014. p. 27–31.
8.
Bolsewicz K, Vallely A, Debattista J, Whittaker A, Fitzgerald L. Factors impacting HIV testing: a review - perspectives from Australia, Canada, and the UK. AIDS Care. 2015;27(5):570–80.CrossRefPubMed
9.
Lin A-C, Fairley CK, Dutt K, Klassen KM, Chen MY, Fehler G, et al. Testing for HIV among men who have sex with men needs a paradigm shift in Australia, given the minimal increase between 2003 and 2013 in Melbourne. Australia Sex Health. 2015;12(5):373–82.CrossRefPubMed
10.
Lorenc T, Marrero-Guillamón I, Llewellyn A, Aggleton P, Cooper C, Lehmann A, et al. HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM): systematic review of qualitative evidence. Health Educ Res. 2011;26(5):834–46.CrossRefPubMed
11.
Lorenc T, Marrero-Guillamón I, Aggleton P, Cooper C, Llewellyn A, Lehmann A, et al. Promoting the uptake of HIV testing among men who have sex with men: systematic review of effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. Sex Transm Infect. 2011;87(4):272–8.CrossRefPubMed
12.
Prestage G, Brown G, Keen P. Barriers to HIV testing among Australian gay men. Sex Health. 2012;9(5):453–8.CrossRefPubMed
13.
Thornton AC, Delpech V, Kall MM, Nardone A. HIV testing in community settings in resource‐rich countries: a systematic review of the evidence. HIV Med. 2012;13(7):416–26.CrossRefPubMed
14.
Conway DP, Guy R, McNulty A, Couldwell DL, Davies S, Smith DE, et al. Effect of testing experience and profession on provider acceptability of rapid HIV testing after implementation in public sexual health clinics in Sydney. HIV Med. 2015;16(5):280–7.CrossRefPubMed
15.
The Kirby Institute. HIV, viral hepatitis and sexually transmissible infections in Australia annual surveillance report 2015. Sydney: The Kirby Institute, UNSW; 2015.
16.
Commonwealth of Australia. 2011 National HIV Testing Policy. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia; 2011.
17.
18.
19.
Hutchinson A, Farnham P, Sansom S, Yaylali E, Mermin J. Cost-effectiveness of frequent HIV testing of high-risk populations in the United States. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2016;71(3):323–30.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
20.
21.
Holt M, Rapid HIV. Testing: a literature review. Australian Feceration of AIDS Organisations: Newtown; 2009.
22.
Pottie K, Medu O, Welch V, Dahal GP, Tyndall M, Rader T, et al. Effect of rapid HIV testing on HIV incidence and services in populations at high risk for HIV exposure: an equity-focused systematic review. BMJ Open. 2014;4(12):e006859.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
23.
24.
Spielberg F, Branson BM, Goldbaum GM, Lockhart D, Kurth A, Rossini A, et al. Choosing HIV counseling and testing strategies for outreach settings: a randomized trial. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2005;38(3):348–55.PubMed
25.
Yan H, Zhang R, Wei C, Li J, Xu J, Yang H, et al. A peer-led, community-based rapid HIV testing intervention among untested men who have sex with men in China: an operational model for expansion of HIV testing and linkage to care. Sex Transm Infect. 2014;90(5):388–93.CrossRefPubMed
26.
Knight V, Wand H, Gray J, Keen P, McNulty A, Guy R. Convenient HIV testing service models are attracting previously untested gay and bisexual men: a cross-sectional study. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2015;69(5):e147–55.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Chen MY, Bilardi JE, Lee D, Cummings R, Bush M, Fairley CK. Australian men who have sex with men prefer rapid oral HIV testing over conventional blood testing for HIV. Int J STD AIDS. 2010;21:428–30.CrossRefPubMed
28.
Pedrana AR, Guy A, Bowring M, Hellard M, Stoove M. Community models of HIV testing for men who have sex with men (MSM): systematic review 2011. Burnet Institute: Melbourne; 2011.
29.
Read TR, Hocking JS, Bradshaw CS, Morrow A, Grulich AE, Fairley CK, et al. Provision of rapid HIV tests within a health service and frequency of HIV testing among men who have sex with men: randomised controlled trial. BMJ. 2013;347:f5086.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
30.
Webel AR, Okonsky J, Trompeta J, Holzemer WL. A systematic review of the effectiveness of peer-based interventions on health-related behaviors in adults. Am J Public Health. 2010;100(2):247–53.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
31.
Lambert SM, Debattista J, Bodiroza A, Martin J, Staunton S, Walker R. Effective peer education in HIV: defining factors that maximise success. Sex Health. 2013;10(4):325–31.CrossRefPubMed
32.
Minas BC, Giele CM, Laing SC, Bastian L, Burry AW, Sales KJ, et al. Early diagnosis of HIV among men who have sex with men in Western Australia: impact of a peer-led sexually transmissible infection testing service. Sex Health. 2015;12(4):360–3.PubMed
33.
Worthington C, Myers T. Factors underlying anxiety in HIV testing: risk perceptions, stigma, and the patient-provider power dynamic. Qual Health Res. 2003;13(5):636–55.CrossRefPubMed
34.
Mimiaga MJ, Goldhammer H, Belanoff C, Tetu AM, Mayer KH. Men who have sex with men: perceptions about sexual risk, HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing, and provider communication. Sex Transm Dis. 2007;34(2):113–9.CrossRefPubMed
35.
Ryan KE, Wilkinson AL, Leitinger D, El-Hayek C, Ryan C, Pedrana A, et al. Characteristics of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men testing and retesting at Australia’s first shop-front rapid point-of-care HIV testing service. Sex Health. 2016;13(6):560-7.
36.
Conway DP, Holt M, Couldwell DL, Smith DE, Davies SC, McNulty A, et al. Barriers to HIV testing and characteristics associated with never testing among gay and bisexual men attending sexual health clinics in Sydney. J Int AIDS Soc. 2015;18(1):20221–8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
37.
Wilkinson AL, Pedrana AE, El-Hayek C, Vella AM, Asselin J, Batrouney C, et al. The impact of a social marketing campaign on HIV and sexually transmissible infection testing among men who have sex with men in Australia. Sex Transm Dis. 2016;43(1):49–56.CrossRefPubMed
38.
Zou H, Fan S. Characteristics of men who have sex with men who use smartphone geosocial networking applications and implications for HIV interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arch Sex Behav. 2016:1–10.
39.
Beougher SC, Bircher AE, Chakravarty D, Darbes LA, Mandic CG, Neilands TB, et al. Motivations to test for HIV among partners in concordant HIV-negative and HIV-discordant gay male couples. Arch Sex Behav. 2014;44(2):499–508.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
40.
Nelson KM, Thiede H, Hawes SE, Golden MR, Hutcheson R, Carey JW, et al. Why the wait? Delayed HIV diagnosis among men who have sex with men. J Urban Health. 2010;87(4):642–55.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
41.
Dowson L, Kober C, Perry N, Fisher M, Richardson D. Why some MSM present late for HIV testing: a qualitative analysis. AIDS Care. 2012;24(2):204–9.PubMed
42.
Lui CW, Dean J, Mutch A, Mao L, Debattista J, Lemoire J, Howard C, Whittaker A, Hollingdrake O, Fitzgerald L. HIV testing in men who have sex with men: a follow-up review of the qualitative literature since. AIDS Behav. 2010;2017:1–13.
43.
Petoumenos K, Watson J, Whittaker B, Hoy J, Smith D, Bastian L, et al. Subsidized optimal ART for HIV-positive temporary residents of Australia improves virological outcomes: results from the Australian HIV Observational Database Temporary Residents Access Study. J Int AIDS Soc. 2015;18(1):19392.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral
44.
Persson A, Brown G, McDonald A, Korner H. Transmission and prevention of hiv among heterosexual populations in Australia. AIDS Educ Prev. 2014;26(3):245–55.CrossRefPubMed
Metadata
Title
Increasing HIV testing among hard-to-reach groups: examination of RAPID, a community-based testing service in Queensland, Australia
Authors
Allyson J. Mutch
Chi-Wai Lui
Judith Dean
Limin Mao
Jime Lemoire
Joseph Debattista
Chris Howard
Andrea Whittaker
Lisa Fitzgerald
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Health Services Research / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 1472-6963
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-017-2249-5

Other articles of this Issue 1/2017

BMC Health Services Research 1/2017 Go to the issue

Research article

Relationship between the presence of baccalaureate-educated RNs and quality of care: a cross-sectional study in Dutch long-term care facilities

Research article

An Australian general practice based strategy to improve chronic disease prevention, and its impact on patient reported outcomes: evaluation of the preventive evidence into practice cluster randomised controlled trial

Research article

Healthcare providers’ views on the delivery of preconception care in a local community setting in the Netherlands

Research article

Do public nursing home care providers deliver higher quality than private providers? Evidence from Sweden

Study protocol

Clinical and cost-effectiveness analysis of early detection of patients at nutrition risk during their hospital stay through the new screening method CIPA: a study protocol

Research article

Improving primary health care facility performance in Ghana: efficiency analysis and fiscal space implications