Online HIV testing platform a big hit in Bangkok

[webfact]

Online HIV testing platform a big hit in Bangkok

By THE NATION

 

 

Mahidol University is working on an online HIV testing platform to enable those at risk to take a test without visiting the hospital.

 

“A recent study revealed about one-third of male teenagers in Bangkok who have homosexual intercourse contracted HIV unknowingly,” said Asst Prof Thomas Guadamuz, who heads the Centre of Excellence in Research on Gender, Sexuality and Health at the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Mahidol University. “Furthermore, in Thai society those who test positive for HIV often face discrimination. This means people engaged in risky behaviours may become unwilling to get tested at hospital.”

 

“The Centre of Excellence in Research on Gender, Sexuality and Health is developing an online platform to provide HIV testing using technology such as video conferencing, to enable those at risk to take a test at their home,” he said. “Candidates will be instructed to provide a sample of their blood on a piece of sterile paper and mail it to the Clinical Research Centre, Department of Medical Sciences. The centre will perform a rapid HIV test on the sample and send the result to the candidate via their electronic channel of choice.”

 

Guadamuz added that the pilot project has been well-received by homosexual men, who expressed interest in using the platform to test their blood periodically. “We hope that the project will help reduce the spread of HIV/Aids in Thailand and fulfil the “90-90-90” goal of Joint United Nations Programme [UNAIDS] on HIV/Aids,” he said.

 

By 2030, UNAIDS wants 90 per cent of people living with HIV to know their HIV status, 90 per cent of all people diagnosed with HIV to receive antiretroviral therapy, and 90 per cent of all people receiving antiretroviral therapy to have viral suppression.

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30398898

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-12-01

 

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[scubascuba3]

I'd like to see much better support services for sex workers, in Pattaya they seem clueless

[orchis]

Misleading title. How can the platform be a big hit; it DOESN'T exist yet.

[fangless]

I can imagine the scams/scares that could be created with this system.  Give a false address and and an innocent person gets a positive HIV report!!

Given the state of IT security in general and that in Thailand in particular, this has all the hallmarks of data Protection problems.

 

If it is IT/hacking/Spoofing proof then of course I would support it but I have my serious security doubts.

[welovesundaysatspace]

2 hours ago, fangless said:

I can imagine the scams/scares that could be created with this system.  Give a false address and and an innocent person gets a positive HIV report!!

If anything, that person would get a test kit that he doesn’t want/need, so it would be just a waste of money. 

 

2 hours ago, fangless said:

Given the state of IT security in general and that in Thailand in particular, this has all the hallmarks of data Protection problems.

How? I could as well go to the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic and fill-in someone else’s name there. How is this service less secure than any clinic or Organisation that’s using IT systems? 

 

[fangless]

2 minutes ago, welovesundaysatspace said:

If anything, that person would get a test kit that he doesn’t want/need, so it would be just a waste of money. 

 

How? I could as well go to the Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic and fill-in someone else’s name there. How is this service less secure than any clinic or Organisation that’s using IT systems? 

 

“Candidates will be instructed to provide a sample of their blood on a piece of sterile paper and mail it to the Clinical Research Centre, Department of Medical Sciences. The centre will perform a rapid HIV test on the sample and send the result to the candidate via their electronic channel of choice.”

 

You do not attend in person with this.  It appears to me to be anonymous.

In your example I would have to show  a Thai ID card or passport.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 1, 2020 by fangless

[micmichd]

18 hours ago, scubascuba3 said:

I'd like to see much better support services for sex workers, in Pattaya they seem clueless

They get regularly tested. 

[micmichd]

2 minutes ago, micmichd said:

They get regularly tested - by police when they check ID cards. 

 

[khunjeff]

18 hours ago, orchis said:

Misleading title. How can the platform be a big hit; it DOESN'T exist yet.

 

The same way that the "Phuket Model" for reviving tourism could be a "model" when it was never actually implemented.

[Caldera]

This looks unnecessarily convoluted to me, as all those who need to get tested still need to mail a sample to a lab. They could just as well visit the Red Cross HIV clinic and have their result much quicker.

 

For those who don't want to go to a clinic: Why don't they roll out home test kits that don't require sending in a sample, like with pregnancy tests? They do exist in other countries.

[scubascuba3]

1 hour ago, micmichd said:

They get regularly tested. 

haha funniest thing I've heard for ages ????