STI and BBV research
Research provides the evidence base for developing prevention and treatment initiatives targeting particular communities. Research is also important for monitoring and evaluating programs. Australian research centres which focus on STI and BBV prevention among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities include:
The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, in Adelaide, conducts research on STI and HIV prevention in Aboriginal communities and the care of people with HIV, developing prevention and treatment strategies targeting communities, and translating research outcomes into proposals for policy development. SAHMRI’s Infection and Immunity Aboriginal Health research group is leading the establishment of the Centre for Research Excellence on Aboriginal Sexual Health and Blood-borne Viruses (CRE-ASH) – a five year National Health and Medical Research Council funded study which will develop a sentinel surveillance network to monitor trends in STI and blood borne virus testing and diagnosis data for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population. The Kirby Institute at the University of NSW, produces annual surveillance reports on HIV, viral hepatitis and STI diagnoses among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The Centre for Social Research in Health (CSRH), at the University of NSW, publishes the Annual Report on Trends in Behaviour which reports on behavioural and attitudinal data on modes of transmission of HIV, viral hepatitis, and STIs in Australia. The Burnet Institute collaborates with the Kirby Institute and the National Serology Reference Laboratory on the ACCESS project (Australian Collaboration for Coordinated Enhanced Sentinel Surveillance of STIs and BBVs). ACCESS is establishing a surveillance system to assist in evaluating interventions designed to control STIs and blood borne viruses, including in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. The Doherty Institute has collaborated with the Monash Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine to conduct a 20+ year study of more than 2.4 million cases of infectious disease across Australia. The study shows that poverty, living remotely or being Indigenous significantly increases the risk of contracting infectious diseases, including STIs and blood borne viruses.
