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Acceptability of HIV Self-Testing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Scoping Study

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Abstract

Several HIV testing models have been implemented in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to improve access to HIV testing, but uptake remains poor. HIV Self-Testing (HIVST) is now available, and may serve to overcome barriers of current testing models which include stigma, discrimination and non-confidential testing environments. A scoping study was conducted to provide an overview of the current literature in SSA, as well as identify future research needs to scale-up HIVST and increase HIV testing uptake. The outcome of the review indicated only 11 reported studies to date, showing variable acceptability (22.3–94%) of HIVST, with acceptability of HIVST higher among men than women in SSA. We conclude that research around HIVST in SSA is still in its infancy, and further implementation research and interventions are required to improve acceptability of HIVST among diverse study populations, failing which policy adoption and scale-up may be hindered.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa for their support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for the AIDS Programme of Research in South Africa, Doris Duke Medical Research Institute, 2nd Floor, 719 Umbilo Road, Durban, 4013, South Africa

    Charlene Harichund

  2. Department of Rural Health, School of Nursing and Public Health, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa

    M. Moshabela

  3. Africa Centre for Population Health, Mtubatuba, South Africa

    M. Moshabela

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  1. Charlene Harichund
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Correspondence to Charlene Harichund.

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Charlene Harichund declares that she has no conflict of interest. M. Moshabela declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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Harichund, C., Moshabela, M. Acceptability of HIV Self-Testing in Sub-Saharan Africa: Scoping Study. AIDS Behav 22, 560–568 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-017-1848-9

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