Health and service utilization among a sample of gender-diverse youth of color: the TRUTH study

The study found that self-collection of dried blood spots and other samples using at-home kits was a useful and cost-effective method for screening a large cohort for sexually transmitted infections outside a clinic. This demonstrates the feasibility of decentralised, patient-centric sampling for population-level infectious disease surveillance.

Prevalence of chlamydial, gonococcal and syphilis positivity by anatomical site and sex via self-collected biospecimens using at-home testing kits among a large and diverse cohort of men and women enrolled in the MACS/WIHS Combined Cohort Study (MWCCS) in the USA — Mimiaga et al., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• sti
• dbs
• self-collection
• dried
• serology
• bd-microtainer
• urine

This retrospective analysis of over 600,000 online postal self-sampling orders found that whilst return rates for urine samples were moderate to high, the return of processable blood samples was significantly lower and varied by age and deprivation level.

Factors associated with the online postal self-sampling testing cascade in England, 2022: a retrospective observational study of routinely collected service-level healthcare data — Gibbs et al., Sexually transmitted infections (paywalled) · source ↗

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

Self-collected vaginal samples demonstrated comparable sensitivity to clinician-collected specimens for detecting high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions, whereas urine and menstrual blood samples showed lower sensitivity despite moderate concordance for human papillomavirus detection.

HPV Detection in Clinician-Collected, Self-Collected Vagina, Urine, and Menstrual Blood Samples — Ho et al., Journal of lower genital tract disease (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• urine
• self-collection
• hpv
• sti

This pilot study demonstrated that a fully remote web-based testing programme for sexually transmitted and blood-borne infections was feasible and acceptable overall, although participants encountered specific collection challenges with the dried blood spot component.

Comprehensive at-home sexually transmitted and blood borne infection (STBBI) testing program: A pilot study — Christensen et al., International journal of STD & AIDS · source ↗

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

A home-based PrEP follow-up programme using self-collected specimens and remote monitoring was evaluated among predominantly Black and Latino men who have sex with men in South Florida. Only 37.5% elected home-based care, with completion rates falling from 48.3% at first follow-up to 15% by the third, and most returned to clinic care citing discomfort with self-collection and logistical barriers, highlighting that decentralised HIV prevention requires enhanced support to achieve equitable uptake and persistence.

PrEP Beyond the Clinic: Evaluation of a Home-Based PrEP Follow-Up System Among a Cohort of Predominantly Black and Latino Men who Have Sex with Men in South Florida — Butts et al., Journal of acquired immune deficiency syndromes (paywalled) · source ↗

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