A postal HIV testing scheme received over 3,000 orders in one weekend; showing “significant demand” for option to test at home says Terrence Higgins Trust (THT).
HIV and sexual health charity THT received more than 3,000 requests for postal HIV tests during one weekend, demonstrating “significant nationwide demand and acceptability” for the option to test for HIV at home.
This figure is included in initial findings from the charity’s HIV self-sampling scheme, presented today at the British HIV Association (BHIVA) Conference.
The scheme, which launched in January 2013, invited groups at increased risk of infection to place an order online and receive a free HIV test kit through the post. Users were asked to provide a finger-prick of blood, which they then posted to a laboratory for testing. The result was returned within 14 days, either by text message (if the result was negative), or with a telephone call to provide support and referral to a specialist HIV service (if the result was positive).
The scheme was launched in partnership with Public Health England and was promoted through HIV Prevention England’s campaign It Starts With Me.
Key findings from the pilot of the self-sampling scheme include:
• 9,868 HIV test kits were ordered between January and September 2013, 64% of which were returned.
• 73% of those who returned a test were gay or bisexual men, while around 4.4% were African (the two communities at increased risk of HIV in the UK).
• 32% of those who returned a test had never tested for HIV before, and 25% had not tested in the last 12 months.
• 1.7% of the returned tests were positive, rising to 1.8% among gay and bisexual men and 3.6% among Africans.
• 97% of a sample of 915 users agreed that they would use the HIV self-sampling service again.
In March 2014, following a concerted marketing push during its second phase, the scheme received more than 3,000 postal orders in one weekend.
Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “We set up this pilot because people were telling us they would be more likely to test for HIV in the privacy of their own home. What we hadn’t anticipated was just how popular the scheme would be, with demand very nearly outstripping supply on more than one occasion.
“Given the scale of public demand, and the positive feedback from those who have used the service, it is likely that HIV self-sampling will form a key strut of our prevention work in the UK from this point on. It also suggests there may be reasonable demand for HIV self-testing once an approved kit goes on sale.”
There are currently more than 100,000 people living with HIV in the UK. However, around 22% of those with the virus remain undiagnosed. Undiagnosed infection is widely recognised as a key factor driving the UK’s HIV epidemic, as someone who remains undiagnosed is much more likely to pass the virus on unwittingly than someone who has tested and is on treatment.
From Sunday, April 6, the sale of HIV self-testing kits – where a person performs an HIV test on themselves and receives an immediate result – will become legal in the UK. However, no kit has yet been approved that is available for sale. It is likely that the first approved kits will be available by late 2014 or early 2015.
For further information on HIV testing, CLICK HERE:
You must be logged in to post a comment.