An Online HIV Self-Sampling Strategy for Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex with Men and Trans Women in Spain

Bibliographic Data

ID21426456
AuthorsHéctor Martínez‐Riveros (0000-0003-3372-6134, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona, corresponding author), Yesika Díaz (0000-0002-3727-7340, Generalitat de Catalunya), Marcos Montoro-Fernández (0000-0003-2425-4120, Generalitat de Catalunya), Sergio Moreno-Fornés, Sergio Moreno‐Fornés (0000-0001-9441-1799, Generalitat de Catalunya), Victoria Gonzalez (0000-0002-8793-6471, Generalitat de Catalunya), Esteve Muntada (Generalitat de Catalunya), Pol Romano-deGea, Pol Romano‐deGea (0000-0002-9519-1764, Generalitat de Catalunya), Rafael Muñoz (0000-0001-8127-9012, Generalitat de Catalunya), Juan Hoyos (0000-0003-3772-2771), Jordi Casabona (0000-0003-4816-5536, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona), Cristina Agustí (0000-0002-5259-2242, Generalitat de Catalunya)
Year2024
Volume49
Issue3
Pages535-548
Publication date2024-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Community Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0094-5145 • E-ISSN: 1573-3610
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10900-023-01311-8
PMID38141149
OpenAlexW4390144046
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited37

We aimed to evaluate the feasibility of an online self-sampling pilot intervention for HIV testing addressed to gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) and trans women (TW) users of dating apps in Spain. The website https://www.testate.org/ was designed to offer self-sampling kits for HIV testing and online consultation of the results. It was advertised on gay dating apps. Participants requested the delivery of a saliva self-sampling kit by mail and a postage-paid envelope to send the sample to the reference laboratory. An anonymous acceptability survey was conducted. The cascade of care was estimated. From November 2018 to December 2021, 4623 individual users ordered self-sampling kits, 3097 returned an oral fluid sample to the reference laboratory (67.5% return rate). 87 reactive results were detected. 76 were confirmed to be HIV-positive, we estimated an HIV prevalence of 2.45% (95% CI 1.9–3.0%). 100% of those referred to specialized care are in treatment. 44.3% (44.27%) of participants took more than one test. 23 incident cases were detected among repeat testers, of which 20 were confirmed. The estimated incidence was 1.00 confirmed case per 100 individual-years of follow-up. 98.01% of participants would recommend it to a friend. The most identified advantages were convenience and privacy. We demonstrated that the online offer of oral self-sampling kits for HIV detection and reporting results online among GBMSM and TW users of dating apps is feasible. The intervention counted with a high acceptability and high efficacy (in terms of reactivity, confirmation and linkage to care rates)

Biology · Family medicine · Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) · Intervention (counseling) · Men who have sex with men · Psychiatry · Sampling (signal processing) · Test (biology) · Computer Science · Demography · HIV, Drug Use, Sexual Risk · HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions · Medicine · Psychology · Syphilis Diagnosis and Treatment · Gerontology

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