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Point-of-care testing in remote First Nations communities | UNSW
Access to timely healthcare is a challenge for many remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment for infections. In response, the UNSW’s Kirby Institute, in partnership with Flinders University, developed the First Nations Molecular Point-of-Care (POC) Testing Program to make testing for infectious diseases more accessible.
Launched in 2013, the program operates in over 75 remote communities, helping prevent serious complications like pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility. With over 60,000 tests conducted and 9,000 infections treated, this initiative has dramatically improved health outcomes.
This highly accurate testing, which provides same-day results, has led to a 40 per cent reduction in pelvic inflammatory disease and 30 per cent reduction in preterm births among young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The successful approval of the Medicare rebate for these tests marks a historic policy achievement, ensuring sustainable funding and accessibility for remote health services.
Finalists - Professor Rebecca Guy and team
Joshua Riessen – Aboriginal Health Council of South Australia (AHCSA) Sexual Health and BBV Program Officer
"I’m an Aboriginal Health Practitioner and a point of care operator so I have seen first-hand the benefits of point of care testing, especially for STIs. STIs can still be a bit taboo in our communities, it can be hard to engage our young people in sexual health checks and get them back into the clinic for treatment. Having access to STI point of care testing and getting results back in about an hour makes a huge difference, we can treat people the same day if needed and they don't have to come back. It's actually really empowering for our clients. I also joined the Leaders group [First Nations POC testing Leaders Group] last year. It's been great to connect with other point of care operators and have a say in how the rogram is delivered to communities, as well as the capacity building opportunities I've had over the past 12 months. Through the leaders' group I've been supported to attend conferences and even had the opportunity to present last year. I’m really excited about what the leader's group can achieve!
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Dawn Casey – Deputy CEO, National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
“The Kirby team are brilliant. They are fully committed to improving the health and wellbeing of First Nations communities. They take the time to work with communities to listen and co-design their research and the implementation of POC testing to make sure the approach is locally-led, relevant and embedded in existing health service delivery. They have gone above and beyond just doing research; they’ve taken their findings and worked with community and NACCHO to make POC testing sustainable, by making sure to get a Medicare rebate and ongoing funding from the Commonwealth. This is an historic win for all, achieved with and for First Nations peoples. This is making a big difference to our peoples’ health and wellbeing.”
Dr Lorraine Anderson, Medical Director, Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services LTD
"Kimberley Aboriginal Medical Services have had a long-standing relationship with the Kirby Institute. They’ve supported remote health services in the Kimberley to deliver STI point of care testing for over 10 years.
One of our remote communities was also the first to have access to COVID-19 point of care testing during the pandemic. It was a scary time for many of our communities, but the program team supported our service 24/7.
We recently, August 2024 had staff from the program visit us in Broome to consult with our clinicians about Strep A point of care testing. Strep A point of care testing is new, and our clinicians are excited as we believe it will make a huge difference in preventing acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease in our kids.
The Kirby Institute always take on feedback from our clinicians and tailor the program to meet our needs, it's what makes the program such a success."
Scaling up point-of-care testing for infectious diseases in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities-UNSW
Scaling up point-of-care testing for infectious diseases in Remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities
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