Assessing the prevalence of Female Genital Schistosomiasis and comparing the acceptability and performance of health worker-collected and self-collected cervical-vaginal swabs using PCR testing among women in North-Western Tanzania: The ShWAB study

Sexual minority men found finger-stick blood and rectal swabs more challenging to self-collect than other specimens. Barriers to returning samples included low confidence in self-collection and concerns about transit delays, while motivators were status confirmation and limited clinic access; real-time video support could improve uptake in future decentralised testing programmes.

Perceptions and Experiences of Returning Self-collected Specimens for HIV, Bacterial STI and Potential PrEP Adherence Testing among Sexual Minority Men in the United States — Sharma et al., AIDS and behavior · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

Higher engagement in regular HIV and STI testing was associated with incident STIs and health seeking behaviours, and participants rated self-sampling as convenient.

Regular Testing of HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections With Self-Collected Samples From Multiple Anatomic Sites to Monitor Sexual Health in Men Who Have Sex With Men: Longitudinal Study — Wong et al., JMIR formative research · source ↗

• acceptability
• blood
• sti
• self-collection
• serology
• urine

Among 92 patients on HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis, 79.3 per cent returned home-collected kits comprising dried blood spots, urine, and oropharyngeal swabs. Nearly 87.7 per cent were extremely to moderately satisfied with avoiding clinic visits, and mean turnaround fell from 17 to 5 days, showing self-collection is a feasible, patient-centric model for decentralised sexual health and SARS-CoV-2 screening.

Feasibility and Acceptability of Home-Collected Samples for Human Immunodeficiency Virus Preexposure Prophylaxis and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Laboratory Tests in San Francisco Primary Care Clinics — Saberi et al., Open forum infectious diseases · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti

Intervention mapping identified stigma, privacy, and time constraints as key barriers to self-sampling for HIV and sexually transmitted infections among men who have sex with men. Developing tailored digital outreach, role-model narratives, and peer-to-peer test distribution addresses these barriers to support uptake of remote home self-collection programs.

Systematic Development of an Intervention to Promote Self-Sampling for HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infections for Men Who Have Sex With Men: An Intervention Mapping Approach — Leenen et al., Frontiers in reproductive health · source ↗

• acceptability
• blood
• sti
• self-collection
• serology
• urine

Home-based self-collection of urine and vaginal swabs proved acceptable to young South Africans, with most finding it easy and not embarrassing. The study detected high rates of asymptomatic sexually transmitted infections that would be missed by routine care, supporting decentralised surveillance and screening programmes in low- and middle-income settings.

Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among young people in South Africa: A nested survey in a health and demographic surveillance site — Francis et al., PLoS medicine · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• self-collection
• acceptability
• serology
• sti