2019 · International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · paywalled
Gay and bisexual men's experiences using self-testing kits for HIV and rectal and urethral bacterial sexually transmitted infections: Lessons learned from a study with home-based testing
John et al.
The finding, in our words
Among gay and bisexual men, urine-based STI self-sampling was reported as easy by 99% of participants and rectal swab self-collection by 90%. Nearly all trusted their rapid HIV self-test results, with 94% reading them within the recommended 20-40 minute window, indicating high acceptability and reliability of home-based diagnostic testing for this population.
A paraphrase to the Library’s standard, never the abstract. The source is one link away and is always the authority.
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.
In north-western Tanzania, self-collected cervical-vaginal swabs and urine were used for PCR detection of Female Genital Schistosomiasis; self-sampling was highly acceptable and detected more cases than operator-collected swabs, supporting its use in decentralised screening programmes.
Ursini et al., PLoS neglected tropical diseases · source ↗
Higher engagement in regular HIV and STI testing was associated with incident STIs and health seeking behaviours, and participants rated self-sampling as convenient.
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.
Saberi et al., Open forum infectious diseases · source ↗
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.
Leenen et al., Frontiers in reproductive health · source ↗