Universal test and treat and the HIV epidemic in rural South Africa: a phase 4, open-label, community cluster randomised trial

In a pilot mixed-methods study of youth with HIV, mailed HemaSpot-HF kits enabled home-based dried blood spot collection that participants found feasible and acceptable, supporting remote viral load monitoring and a self-management model for decentralised care.

An Examination of Perceptions and Usage of Dried Blood Spot Biosampling Technology for HIV Viral Load Collection Among Youth with HIV — Gurung et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• acceptability
• dct
• serology

This narrative review surveys remote biospecimen collection products for sexual health research, including dried blood spots and volumetric absorptive microsampling, and concludes that successful implementation needs a multidisciplinary, participant-centred team with sufficient time allocated to the complexities of collection procedures and processes.

A Narrative Review of Remote Biospecimen Collection Product and Implementation Considerations for Sexual Health Clinical Research — Horvath et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• vams
• dbs
• self-collection
• validation
• dct
• serology
• sti

A study of older rural US patients found that 96 to 98 per cent of self-collected dried blood spot specimens were successfully analysed for HIV viral load, with high acceptability. However, concordance between self-reported and measured viral load was only 69 to 82 per cent, highlighting the value of objective decentralised microsampling over self-reporting.

Acceptability and Feasibility of Self-Collected Dried Blood Spot Specimens for Viral Load Monitoring among Rural Older People Living with HIV — Walsh et al., AIDS and behavior (paywalled) · source ↗

• dct
• acceptability
• blood
• dbs
• self-collection
• dried
• serology

A statewide remote seroprevalence study using at-home dried blood spot kits achieved a 71.6% sample return rate from registered households, with success dependent on integrated data systems, responsive participant support, and strong health department partnerships. This demonstrates feasibility of large-scale decentralised microsampling for public health surveillance.

CalScope: methodology and lessons learned for conducting a remote statewide SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study in California using an at-home dried blood spot collection kit and online survey — Lim et al., BMC medical research methodology · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• dct
• serology

Self-collected dried blood spots were used to assess HIV status at 12 months in 1168 participants. Integration of sexual and reproductive health services increased linkage to HIV prevention care within 60 days (adjusted odds ratio 1·68) compared with standard referral, whereas peer support had no effect.

Effectiveness of integrating HIV prevention within sexual reproductive health services with or without peer support among adolescents and young adults in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Isisekelo Sempilo): 2 × 2 factorial, open-label, randomised controlled trial — Shahmanesh et al., The lancet. HIV (paywalled) · source ↗

• blood
• dried
• dbs
• self-collection
• dct
• serology
• sti