MRFF Grant Success for HaBIC R2 – ATLAS+

Led by University of Queensland, this $2M 3-year MRFF grant will facilitate substantial expansion of the ATLAS sentinel surveillance network, currently comprising 32 Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs) nationally. The project builds upon the ATLAS Centre for Research Excellence which progressed our understanding of longstanding disparity in sexually transmissible infections (STIs) and blood-borne viruses (BBVs) among Indigenous peoples. ATLAS+ will double the number of participating ACCHOs and add new primary care providers and geographical regions to the network. Additionally, the project will expand the scope of the infrastructure beyond STIs and BBVs to include vaccine-preventable diseases and chronic conditions. The success of ATLAS+ depends upon HaBIC R2’s novel GRHANITE extraction tool to collect patient data related to disease testing and management, enabling deidentified person-based data to be linked within and between participating sites.

ATLAS+ will increase the quality and capacity of Australia’s surveillance and reporting systems, further supporting ACCHOs to improve Indigenous clinical care and strengthen Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Congratulations to the HaBIC R2 team and their collaborators!