A University of Queensland researcher has been awarded a $70,000 grant towards a HIV-test vending machine pilot program to target people who may avoid traditional testing methods in Brisbane.
UQ senior researcher Dr Owain Williams' project proposes using technology of a saliva-based HIV testing kit and trialling access to these through two vending machines in two sex-on-premises locations in Brisbane.
Dr Williams says currently about 11% of people who are HIV positive in Australia don’t know their status, and he believes this grant will go a long way towards helping to socialise and normalise HIV testing.