PLoS ONE (Jan 2024)

Preferences and uptake of home-based HIV self-testing for maternal retesting in Kenya.

  • Alison L Drake,
  • Wenwen Jiang,
  • Peninah Kitao,
  • Shiza Farid,
  • Barbra A Richardson,
  • David A Katz,
  • Anjuli D Wagner,
  • Cheryl C Johnson,
  • Daniel Matemo,
  • GraceJohn Stewart,
  • John Kinuthia

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0302077
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 19, no. 8
p. e0302077

Abstract

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ObjectiveTo compare preferences, uptake, and cofactors for unassisted home-based oral self-testing (HB-HIVST) versus clinic-based rapid diagnostic blood tests (CB-RDT) for maternal HIV retesting.DesignProspective cohort.MethodsBetween November 2017 and June 2019, HIV-negative pregnant Kenyan women receiving antenatal care were enrolled and given a choice to retest with HB-HIVST or CB-RDT. Women were asked to retest between 36 weeks gestation and 1-week post-delivery if the last HIV test was ResultsOverall, 994 women enrolled and 33% (n = 330) selected HB-HIVST. HB-HIVST was selected because it was private (n = 224, 68%), convenient (n = 211, 63%), and offered flexibility in the timing of retesting (n = 207, 63%), whereas CB-RDT was selected due to the trust of providers to administer the test (n = 510, 77%) and convenience of clinic testing (n = 423, 64%). Among 905 women who reported retesting at follow-up, 135 (15%) used HB-HIVST. Most (n = 595, 94%) who selected CB-RDT retested with this strategy, compared to 39% (n = 120) who selected HB-HIVST retesting with HB-HIVST. HB-HIVST retesting was more common among women with higher household income and those who may have been unable to test during pregnancy (both retested postpartum and delivered ConclusionsWhile most women preferred CB-RDT for maternal retesting, HB-HIVST was acceptable and feasible and could be used to expand HIV retesting options.