SynthesisBMC public health2013
Acceptability of HIV self-testing: a systematic literature review.
Synthesis in BMC public health, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 212 papers, 13 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
212 citing papers in PubMed, 13 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Acceptability of self-sampling and self-testing for infections: a rapid systematic review on public users' views.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Acceptability and use of HIV self-testing among young people in sub-Saharan Africa: a mixed methods systematic review.BMC primary care · 2024Pooled it
- Costs of HIV testing services in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic literature review.BMC infectious diseases · 2024Pooled it
- Counseling Supporting HIV Self-Testing and Linkage to Care Among Men Who Have Sex With Men: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Pooled it
- How much does HIV self-testing cost in low and middle income countries? A systematic review of evidence from economic studies.Frontiers in public health · 2023Pooled it
- HIV Testing Uptake According to Opt-In, Opt-Out or Risk-Based Testing Approaches: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Current HIV/AIDS reports · 2022Pooled it
- Pooled it
- A systematic review of qualitative evidence on factors enabling and deterring uptake of HIV self-testing in Africa.BMC public health · 2019Pooled it
- A systematic review of selected human rights programs to improve HIV-related outcomes from 2003 to 2015: what do we know?BMC infectious diseases · 2019Pooled it
- Reliability of HIV rapid diagnostic tests for self-testing compared with testing by health-care workers: a systematic review and meta-analysis.The lancet. HIV · 2018Pooled it
- Examining the effects of HIV self-testing compared to standard HIV testing services: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2017Pooled it
- A systematic review of emergency department based HIV testing and linkage to care initiatives in low resource settings.PloS one · 2017Pooled it
- Efficacy of the mLab App: a randomized clinical trial for increasing HIV testing uptake using mobile technology.Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association : JAMIA · 2025Trial
- A community-based dynamic choice model for HIV prevention improves PrEP and PEP coverage in rural Uganda and Kenya: a cluster randomized trial.Journal of the International AIDS Society · 2023Trial
- A Cluster-Randomized Trial of Traditional Healer-Delivered Counseling and Rapid HIV Testing in Tanzania.AIDS and behavior · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Did you hear about HIV self-testing? HIV self-testing awareness after community-based HIVST distribution in rural Zimbabwe.BMC infectious diseases · 2022Trial
- Participatory Design of a Web-Based HIV Oral Self-Testing Infographic Experiment (HOTIE) for Emerging Adult Sexual Minority Men of Color: A Mixed Methods Randomized Control Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Sustaining success: a qualitative study of gay and bisexual men's experiences and perceptions of HIV self-testing in a randomized controlled trial.BMC public health · 2021Trial
152 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe uptake of HIV testing and counselling services remains low in risk groups around the world. Fear of stigmatisation, discrimination and breach of confidentiality results in low service usage among risk groups. HIV self-testing (HST) is a confidential HIV testing option that enables people to find out their status in the privacy of their homes. We evaluated the acceptability of HST and the benefits and challenges linked to the introduction of HST.
methodsA literature review was conducted on the acceptability of HST in projects in which HST was offered to study participants. Besides acceptability rates of HST, accuracy rates of self-testing, referral rates of HIV-positive individuals into medical care, disclosure rates and rates of first-time testers were assessed. In addition, the utilisation rate of a telephone hotline for counselling issues and clients` attitudes towards HST were extracted.
resultsEleven studies met the inclusion criteria (HST had been offered effectively to study participants and had been administered by participants themselves) and demonstrated universally high acceptability of HST among study populations. Studies included populations from resource poor settings (Kenya and Malawi) and from high-income countries (USA, Spain and Singapore). The majority of study participants were able to perform HST accurately with no or little support from trained staff. Participants appreciated the confidentiality and privacy but felt that the provision of adequate counselling services was inadequate.
conclusionsThe review demonstrates that HST is an acceptable testing alternative for risk groups and can be performed accurately by the majority of self-testers. Clients especially value the privacy and confidentiality of HST. Linkage to counselling as well as to treatment and care services remain major challenges.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.