Outcomes of HIV Self-Testing Implementation in Zimbabwe, 2018-2020 and Its Relevance to the COVID-19 Period and Beyond

Autor: Satti H, Nyagura T, Bateganya M, Auxilia Muchedzi, Taurayi A. Tafuma, Mulamuli Mpofu, Mavimba T, Zulu T, Getrude Ncube, Samushonga T, Dhliwayo R, Talent Tapera, Fungai H. Mudzengerere
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: SSRN Electronic Journal.
ISSN: 1556-5068
Popis: Background: HIV self-testing (HIV-ST) is an innovative strategy to increase HIV case identification and can be implemented while maintaining physical distancing. This analysis shares the outcomes of HIV-ST implementation within the Zimbabwe HIV Care and Treatment (ZHCT) project and demonstrate the relevance of the results in bridging the HIV testing gap during the COVID-19 period and beyond. Methods: We extracted HIV-ST data for the period October 2018 to March 2020 from the project database and assessed 1)the proportion of reactive HIV-ST results; 2) the concordance between reactive HIV-ST results against rapid confirmatory HIV tests using Determine™ and Chembio™ in parallel; and 3) the monthly contribution of HIV-ST to total HIV positive cases identified within project. The Chi-square test was used to assess for differences in proportion of cases identified through HIV-ST and through index and mobile testing by age group, gender, and month. Findings: Between October 2018 and March 2020, the ZHCT project distributed 11,983 HIV-ST kits, where 11,924 (99·8%) were used and 2,616 (21·9%) were reactive. Of the reactive tests, 2,610 were confirmed HIV positive, a concordance rate of 99·8% between the HIV-ST results and the confirmatory tests. Proportion of reactive results differed by age-groups; with the 30-34, 35-39- and 40-44-year age groups having the highest proportions above 25% (p
Databáze: OpenAIRE