Check it out, check it off (COCO) project
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities experience a disproportionate burden of sexually transmissible infections (STIs) in Australia. Regular STI testing is a cornerstone of the public health response to minimise onward transmission and morbidities associated with STIs, and current guidelines recommend at least annual STI testing in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people aged 15-35. Research by our team shows significant gaps in the uptake of STI testing, and normalising STI testing has been consistently raised by young people and providers as a key strategy to increase STI testing coverage.
“Check it out, check it off (COCO)” is an Aboriginal led project that aims to co-design, implement and evaluate community-led models to optimise uptake of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ‘Health Check’ (715) and embed the sexual health assessment, including comprehensive sexually transmissible infections (STI) and bloodborne virus (BBV) testing, into the check. The co-design approach ensures that the community and health service perspectives are prioritised and that cultural safety is paramount in the strategies developed and implemented.
The research team will work closely with participating Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) to co-design individual models aimed at optimizing the uptake of 715 health checks and integrating STI/BBV testing within routine healthcare. This process will use existing research evidence, along with yarns and focus groups to draw on the experiences of ACCHS staff and patients. The outcomes will be investigated using a comprehensive evaluation framework integrating both quantitative and qualitative indicators. The quantitative analysis will use a before and after study design and include both patient information management system data and indicators, and a health economics analysis. The qualitative evaluation will comprise of one-on-one yarns/interviews and focus groups, with ACCHS staff and clinic attendees, to understand acceptability and implementation of the co-designed strategies.
The local Aboriginal communities of participating ACCHS will benefit from improved service delivery, through focused efforts and enhanced knowledge on strategies to improve STI testing through the mechanism of the 715 health check. The broader Aboriginal community will benefit from research findings as to the best strategies to incorporate sexual health assessments and 715 health checks into routine practice care that might better suit their communities. These findings will also contribute towards developing a national scale up plan to enhance standard 715 health check processes.
- Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care
- Aboriginal Health Council South Australia (AHCSA)
- Aboriginal Health Council Western Australia (AHCWA)
- National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO)
- Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO)
Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care Grant
