National HIV self-testing program finds high demand, many testing for first time
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Key takeaways:
- A CDC program to distribute free HIV self-test kits has mailed nearly double the number of tests in its first year than expected.
- More than one-quarter of people receiving tests had never tested for HIV before.
DENVER — A national HIV self-testing program found high demand for tests, with many participants testing for the first time, according to a study.
The Together TakeMeHome program, sponsored and marketed by the CDC, is a direct-to-consumer program that allows people to order one or two HIV self-tests every 90 days, with no restriction based on HIV status or PrEP use. The program is marketed on social media, dating apps and search and display advertising.
The CDC has made HIV self-tests available through direct-mail programs at various times since 2011 and found them to generate high demand, often reaching people who have never had an HIV test or have not had one in more than a year. Based on this seeming success, some experts have noted a need for wider availability of the tests.
“HIV self-testing is important because it can provide access to testing for people who otherwise don’t have access to testing services, [and] it also reduces the stigma associated with walking into a clinic — it allows you to test on your own terms,” Kevin P. Delaney, PhD, MPH, lead epidemiologist in the CDC’s Division of HIV Prevention, said during a press conference at the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections.
Delaney and colleagues analyzed data from the first 9 months of the program, from March 2023 to December 2023. During that time, 181,558 orders were placed — most (86%) for two tests — and a total of 337,812 tests were shipped.
Sixty percent of orders included enough information to describe people ordering the tests in terms of priority populations: 61% were men who reporting having sex with male partners in the previous 12 months — 18% Black and 33% Hispanic — 10.7% were gender diverse people and 10% were Black women.
Most participants (62%) ordered tests through messages and in-app buttons in the Grindr app — seven out of 10 orders were placed through a social media or dating app — and most people who ordered tests either had never had an HIV test (26%) or did not have a test in more than 12 months (27%).
Among 5,294 people who completed a 10-day follow-up survey, 2.1% reported a positive HIV self-test result, 6.5% sought additional sexually transmitted infection testing and 4.5% self-reported starting PrEP after receiving a self-test.
Delaney and colleagues said the results suggest clinicians should be aware of the potential and patient preference for self-testing.
According to Delaney, through Jan. 22, 2024, the program had distributed more than 391,000 tests to more than 195,000 people — well beyond the 200,000 tests per year over 5 years that was originally projected for TTMH.
“We think that the program is working and reaching the priority populations, as well as a group that wasn’t testing otherwise ... and it’s serving as a springboard to other services,” Delaney said.
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Delaney KP, et al. Presented at: Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections; March 3-6, 2024; Denver.
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