Secondary Distribution of HIV Self-Testing Kits to Social and Sexual Networks of PLWH in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. A Brief Report

Frontiers in Public Health

Nsika Sithole¹  Meighan Krows²  Torin Schaafsma²  Connie Celum³  Adrienne E. Shapiro³  Ruanne V. Barnabas⁵  Kombi Sausi⁶  Maryam Shahmanesh⁷  Olivier Koole⁸  Heidi van Rooyen⁹  Alastair Van Heerden⁹ 

[1] Clinical Research Department, Africa Health Research Institute, Somkhele, South Africa;Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States;Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States;Division of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, United States;Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States;Human Sciences Research Council, Sweetwaters, South Africa;Institute for Global Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom;London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom;MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit (DPHRU), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa;

关键词: HIV;    HIV self-testing;    secondary distribution;    community;    Sub-Saharan Africa;    South Africa;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2022.855625

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundTo reach 95% of persons living with HIV (PLWH) knowing their HIV status, alternative testing approaches such as HIV self-testing (HIVST) and secondary HIVST kit distribution are needed. We investigated if secondary HIVST kit distribution from male and female PLWH in South Africa would successfully lead to their contacts testing for HIV and linking to care if positive.MethodsMale and female PLWH participating in an HIV treatment trial between July and November 2018 in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa were offered participation as “HIVST kit distributors” in a pilot of secondary distribution of HIVST kits to give to sexual partners and social networks. Univariate descriptive statistics were used to describe the characteristics of volunteer distributors, proportion of HIVST recipients who reported their results, and linkage to care among those who tested positive using HIVST were assessed.ResultsSixty-three participant kit distributors accepted kits to disperse to contacts, of whom 52% were female, median age was 34 years (IQR 26-42.5), 84% reported 1 sexual partner and 76% did not know their partner's HIV status. HIVST kit distributors took 218 kits, with 13/218 (6%) of kits reported to be intended to be given to a sexual partner. A total of 143 HIVST recipients reported their HIVST results; 92% reported their results were negative, 11 recipients reported positive results and 1 HIVST-positive recipient was linked to HIV care.ConclusionSecondary distribution of HIVST to social networks and sexual partners from South African PLWH is feasible, with two thirds of contacts reporting use of the HIVST kits. Additional support is necessary to facilitate linkage to care.

【 授权许可】

Unknown