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Madimenos FC, Gildner TE, Eick GN, Sugiyama LS, Snodgrass JJ. Bringing the lab bench to the field: Point-of-care testing for enhancing health research and stakeholder engagement in rural/remote, indigenous, and resource-limited contexts. Am J Hum Biol 2022; 34:e23808. [PMID: 36166487 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Point-of-care testing (POCT) allows researchers and health-care providers to bring the lab bench to the field, providing essential health information that can be leveraged to improve health care, accessibility, and understanding across clinical and research settings. Gaps in health service access are most pronounced in what we term RIR settings-rural/remote regions, involving Indigenous peoples, and/or within resource-limited settings. In these contexts, morbidity and mortality from infectious and non-communicable diseases are disproportionately higher due to numerous geographic, economic, political, and sociohistorical factors. Human biologists and global health scholars are well-positioned to contribute on-the-ground-level insights that can serve to minimize global health inequities and POCT has the potential to augment such approaches. While the clinical benefits of POCT include increasing health service access by bringing testing, rapid diagnosis, and treatment to underserved communities with limited pathways to centralized laboratory testing, POCT also provides added benefits to both health-focused researchers and their participants. Through portable, minimally invasive devices, researchers can provide actionable health data to participants by coupling POCT with population-specific health education, discussing results and their implications, creating space for participants to voice concerns, and facilitating linkages to treatment. POCT can also strengthen human biology research by shedding light on questions of evolutionary and biocultural importance. Here, we expand on the epidemiological and research value, as well as practical and ethical challenges of POCT across stakeholders (i.e., participant, community, health researcher, and trainee). Finally, we emphasize the immense opportunities of POCT for fostering collaborative research and enhancing access to health delivery and information and, by extension, helping to mitigate persistent global health inequities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felicia C Madimenos
- Department of Anthropology, Queens College (CUNY), New York, USA.,New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), CUNY Graduate Center, New York, USA
| | - Theresa E Gildner
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Geeta N Eick
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
| | | | - James J Snodgrass
- Department of Anthropology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.,Center for Global Health, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA.,Global Station for Indigenous Studies and Cultural Diversity, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan
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Shephard M, Shephard A, Matthews S, Andrewartha K. The Benefits and Challenges of Point-of-Care Testing in Rural and Remote Primary Care Settings in Australia. Arch Pathol Lab Med 2020; 144:1372-1380. [PMID: 33106858 DOI: 10.5858/arpa.2020-0105-ra] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
CONTEXT.— Point-of-care (POC) testing has significant potential application in rural and remote Australian communities where access to laboratory-based pathology testing is often poor and the burden of chronic, acute, and infectious disease is high. OBJECTIVE.— To explore the clinical, operational, cultural, and cost benefits of POC testing in the Australian rural and remote health sector and describe some of the current challenges and limitations of this technology. DATA SOURCES.— Evidence-based research from established POC testing networks for chronic, acute, and infectious disease currently managed by the International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing at Flinders University are used to highlight the experience gained and the lessons learned from these networks and, where possible, describe innovative solutions to address the current barriers to the uptake of POC testing, which include governance, staff turnover, maintaining training and competency, connectivity, quality testing, sustainable funding mechanisms, and accreditation. CONCLUSIONS.— Point-of-care testing can provide practical and inventive opportunities to revolutionize the delivery of pathology services in rural and remote sectors where clinical need for this technology is greatest. However, many barriers to POC testing still exist in these settings, and the full potential of POC testing cannot be realized until these limitations are addressed and resolved.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Shephard
- From Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Anne Shephard
- From Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Susan Matthews
- From Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
| | - Kelly Andrewartha
- From Flinders University International Centre for Point-of-Care Testing, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia
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Natoli L, Guy RJ, Shephard M, Whiley D, Tabrizi SN, Ward J, Regan DG, Badman SG, Anderson DA, Kaldor J, Maher L. Public health implications of molecular point-of-care testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea in remote primary care services in Australia: a qualitative study. BMJ Open 2015; 5:e006922. [PMID: 25922100 PMCID: PMC4420950 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-006922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES With accurate molecular tests now available for diagnosis of chlamydia and gonorrhoea (Chlamydia trachomatis (CT)/Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG)) at the point-of-care (POC), we aimed to explore the public health implications (benefits and barriers) of their integration into remote primary care in Australia. METHODS Qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposively selected group of 18 key informants reflecting sexual health, primary care, remote Aboriginal health and laboratory expertise. RESULTS Participants believed that POC testing may decrease community prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and associated morbidity by reducing the time to treatment and infectious period and expediting partner notification. Also, POC testing could improve acceptability of STI testing, increase testing coverage and result in more targeted prescribing, thereby minimising the risk of antibiotic resistance. Conversely, some felt the immediacy of diagnosis could deter certain young people from being tested. Participants also noted that POC testing may reduce the completeness of communicable disease surveillance data given the current dependence on reporting from pathology laboratories. Others expressed concern about the need to maintain and improve the flow of NG antibiotic sensitivity data, already compromised by the shift to nucleic acid-based testing. This is particularly relevant to remote areas where culture viability is problematic. CONCLUSIONS Results indicate a high level of support from clinicians and public health practitioners for wider access to CT/NG POC tests citing potential benefits, including earlier, more accurate treatment decisions and reductions in ongoing transmission. However, the data also highlight the need for new systems to avoid adverse impact on disease surveillance. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry: ACTRN12613000808741.
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Affiliation(s)
- L Natoli
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - R J Guy
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - M Shephard
- Flinders University International Centre for Point of-Care Testing, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - D Whiley
- Queensland Paediatric Infectious Diseases (QPID) Laboratory, Queensland Children's Medical Research Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - S N Tabrizi
- Department of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, The Royal Women's Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - J Ward
- South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - D G Regan
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - S G Badman
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - D A Anderson
- Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - J Kaldor
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - L Maher
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Evaluation of HemoCue white blood cell differential counter at a remote health centre in Australia’s Northern Territory. Pathology 2015; 47:91-5. [DOI: 10.1097/pat.0000000000000202] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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Natoli L, Maher L, Shephard M, Hengel B, Tangey A, Badman SG, Ward J, Guy RJ. Point-of-care testing for chlamydia and gonorrhoea: implications for clinical practice. PLoS One 2014; 9:e100518. [PMID: 24956111 PMCID: PMC4067364 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2014] [Accepted: 05/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Point-of-care (POC) testing for chlamydia (CT) and gonorrhoea (NG) offers a new approach to the diagnosis and management of these sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in remote Australian communities and other similar settings. Diagnosis of STIs in remote communities is typically symptom driven, and for those who are asymptomatic, treatment is generally delayed until specimens can be transported to the reference laboratory, results returned and the patient recalled. The objective of this study was to explore the clinical implications of using CT/NG POC tests in routine clinical care in remote settings. METHODS In-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with a purposively selected group of 18 key informants with a range of sexual health and laboratory expertise. RESULTS Participants highlighted the potential impact POC testing would have on different stages of the current STI management pathway in remote Aboriginal communities and how the pathway would change. They identified implications for offering a POC test, specimen collection, conducting the POC test, syndromic management of STIs, pelvic inflammatory disease diagnosis and management, interpretation and delivery of POC results, provision of treatment, contact tracing, management of client flow and wait time, and re-testing at 3 months after infection. CONCLUSIONS The introduction of POC testing to improve STI service delivery requires careful consideration of both its advantages and limitations. The findings of this study will inform protocols for the implementation of CT/NG POC testing, and also STI testing and management guidelines.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa Natoli
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- The Burnet Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- * E-mail:
| | - Lisa Maher
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Mark Shephard
- Flinders University International Centre for Point of-Care Testing, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Belinda Hengel
- Apunipima Cape York Health Council, Cairns, Queensland, Australia
| | - Annie Tangey
- Ngaanyatjarra Health Service, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Steven G. Badman
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - James Ward
- Baker IDI, Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Rebecca J. Guy
- The Kirby Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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