Availability and accessibility of HIV self-tests and self-sample kits at community pharmacies in the Netherlands

AIDS Research and Therapy

Research

Jacqueline Hugtenburg¹  Renee Finkenflügel²  Eline Op de Coul³  Chaima Kandil³  Titia Heijman⁴  Martina Teichert⁵  Hanna Bos⁶ 

[1] Amsterdam University Medical Center, Location VUMC, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Dutch Association of People with HIV (the HIV vereniging), Amsterdam, the Netherlands;National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, Center for Infectious Disease Control, P.O. Box 1, 3720 BA, Bilthoven, the Netherlands;Public Health Service of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;Royal Dutch Pharmacists Association (KNMP), the Hague, the Netherlands;Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, the Netherlands;STI Aids Netherlands, Amsterdam, the Netherlands;

关键词: Pharmacies;    HIV self-tests;    HIV self-sampling;    HIV testing;    Home testing;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12981-023-00529-9

 received in 2023-02-13, accepted in 2023-05-25,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundIn 2016 the WHO declared HIV self-testing and self-sampling an effective and safe test option that can reduce testing barriers. HIV self-tests and self-sampling kits (HIVST/HIVSS) are available for purchase at Dutch community pharmacies since 2019. We investigated the availability and accessibility of HIVST/HIVSS in community pharmacies, and factors associated with test availability.MethodsAn online survey among all Dutch community pharmacies (n = 1,987) was conducted between April and June 2021. Availability of HIVST/HIVSS and experiences of pharmacists with the test offer were analyzed with descriptive statistics. The association of pharmacy and pharmacists’ characteristics with HIVST/HIVSS availability was explored by logistic regression analysis.ResultsIn total, 465 pharmacists completed the questionnaire. Of the responding pharmacists, 6.2% (n = 29) offered HIVST/HIVSS. The majority (82.8%) sold between 0 and 20 tests per year. In total, pharmacies sold an estimated 370 HIVST/HIVSS per year. Pharmacies having HIVST/HIVSS available were less often located in moderately-urbanized to rural neighborhoods (OR 0.35, 95%CI 0.16–0.77 versus highly-urbanized), and were less often located in moderate-to-low SES neighborhoods (OR 0.40, 95%CI 0.18–0.88 versus high-SES). Reasons for not offering HIVST/HIVSS by pharmacists were no or little demand (69.3%), and not being familiar with these tests (17.4%). 52% of the pharmacists provided information about testing to test buyers. Reported options to improve the test offer were giving advice about (performing) the test to test buyers (72.4%), placing tests visible on the counter (51.7%), and advertisement (37.9%).ConclusionHIVST/HIVSS have a limited practical availability in Dutch community pharmacies since their introduction in 2019, especially in lower-urbanized and lower-SES areas. Further research is needed to explore how to expand access to HIVST/HIVSS through community pharmacies in the Netherlands, and how to tailor it to the needs of pharmacy clients.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023