HIV self-testing program widely accepted by people who use drugs
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
HIV self-testing kits were easy to use and widely accepted by people who inject drugs, who reported a desire to know their HIV status and to continuously be able to test, according to preliminary findings from a study presented at IDWeek.
“People who inject drugs (PWID) are at significantly increased risk of acquiring HIV compared to the general population. Although health departments and syringe service programs (SSPs) have made concerted efforts to reduce HIV risks among PWID, HIV testing rates remain very low,” Michelle Rose, MBA, manager of population health at Norton Healthcare in Louisville, Kentucky, told Healio.
“These problems are especially pronounced in Kentucky, which prompted me to consider HIV self-testing as a potential solution,” Rose said. “As part of this effort, I obtained funding through the Norton Healthcare Foundation and developed the study protocol with a colleague, Dr. Nicholas Peiper of the University of Louisville, who has researched the beneficial effects of other self-testing strategies among people who inject drugs.”
Rose and colleagues assessed the acceptability of an HIV self-testing program that used the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test (OraSure Technologies). They implemented the program at a health department in Louisville that services people who use drugs.
Between May and June 2021, 230 people participated in the program, including 87.8% who self-tested at the health department with the help of study staff and 12.2% who tested at home and returned later.
Overall, around 77% of participants reported the self-test kit made them feel better able to keep track of their HIV status compared with standard testing methods. Rose and colleagues found that the most common reasons for testing were that people wanted to know their status (85%), the test was free (37%), it produced fast results (31%), gave them more privacy (23%) and they had engaged in recent high-risk drug use and sexual behaviors (17%).
Nearly all (97%) participants said the test kits were easy to use, so much so that 33% said they would use them monthly, 28% said they would use them every 3 months, 22% said they would use them every 6 months and 17% said they would use them annually.
Because nearly three-quarters of participants indicated that they would take the kits home if services were made available outside of the study period, Rose said it is likely that they would bring them home to family and friends to use as well.
“This is the first study of its kind to evaluate the acceptability HIV self-testing among PWID. About three-quarters reported self-testing made them feel better able to keep track of their HIV status compared to standard methods,” Rose said. “Combined with the other results, our study provides evidence that HIV self-testing is acceptable and feasible. Health departments, SSPs, and other public health entities should consider incorporating self-testing programs into their HIV prevention and harm reduction strategies.”
Rose said the FDA-approved kits can be purchased directly from OraSure Technologies.
“The kits are about $40 each, so our hope is that federal agencies and other funders allow spending for the kits like naloxone, fentanyl test strips, and other prevention tools,” she said.
Collapse
Rose M, et al. Abstract LB11. Presented at: IDWeek; Sept. 29-Oct. 3, 2021 (virtual meeting).
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts