Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34560878›Full record

Trial reportBMC public health2021

Men's comfort in distributing or receiving HIV self-test kits from close male social network members in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania: baseline results from the STEP project.

Joseph K B Matovu, Gaspar Mbita, Akeen Hamilton, Frank Mhando, Wynton M Sims, Noah Thompson, Albert N Komba, Jackson Lija, Jiajia Zhang, Thomas van den Akker and 3 more

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
13citing papers in PubMed
0.6field-weighted citation impact, top 30% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

13 citing papers in PubMed, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

13 authors at 10 institutions in 7 countries.

Joseph K B MatovuMakerere University School of Public Health, Kampala, Uganda.
Gaspar MbitaVrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Akeen HamiltonArnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Frank MhandoUniversity of Dar es Salaam, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
Wynton M SimsSchool of Public Health, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Noah ThompsonArnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Albert N KombaJhpiego Tanzania, An Affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.
Jackson LijaNational AIDS Control Program, Ministry of Health Community Development, Gender, Elderly, and Children, Dodoma, Tanzania.
Jiajia ZhangArnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA.
Thomas van den AkkerVrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Dustin T DuncanColumbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, USA.
Augustine T ChokoMalawi-Liverpool Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Programme, Blantyre, Malawi.
Donaldson F ConserveDepartment of Prevention and Community Health, Milken Institute School of Public Health, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA. dconservejr@gwu.edu.
University of South Carolina · USJohns Hopkins University · USColumbia University · USMakerere University · UGMilken Institute · USMinistry of Health, Community Development, Gender, Elderly and Children · TZUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham · USUniversity of Dar es Salaam · TZUniversity of Liverpool · GBVrije Universiteit Amsterdam · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundA variety of strategies have been used to reach men with HIV self-testing services, including social network-based HIV self-test kits distribution. However, few studies have assessed men's comfort to distribute to or receive HIV self-test kits from close male friends within the same social network. In this study, we assessed men's comfort to distribute to and/or receive HIV self-test kits from close male friends and associated factors among men who socialize in networks locally referred to as "camps" in Tanzania.

methodsData are from the baseline survey of a cluster-randomized controlled trial conducted in June 2019 with 18 social networks or "camps" in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Participants were 18-year-old or older male camp members who were HIV-negative at the time of enrolment. We used the Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) to assess factors associated with being comfortable to distribute to and/or receive HIV self-test kits from close male members within one's social network.

resultsOf 505 participants, 67.9% (n = 342) reported being comfortable to distribute to while 68.2% (n = 344) were comfortable to receive HIV self-test kits from their close male friends. Ever having heard about HIV self-testing (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (Adj. PR): 1.6; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.3, 1.9), willingness to self-test for HIV in front of a sexual partner (Adj. PR: 3.0; 95%CI: 1.5, 6.1) and exposure to peer-led HIV self-testing education and promotion (Adj. PR: 1.4; 95%CI: 1.2, 1.7) were significantly associated with being comfortable to distribute HIV self-test kits to close male members within one's social network. Similar results were observed for being comfortable to receive HIV self-test kits from a close male friend within one's social network.

conclusionsOverall, these findings suggest that distribution of HIV self-test kits through close male friends could improve the proportion of men reached with HIV self-testing services and improve HIV testing rates in this population where uptake remains low. However, additional promotional strategies such as peer-led HIV self-testing education are needed to raise awareness and increase the proportion of men who are comfortable to receive and/or distribute HIV self-testing kits.

Indexed as

HIV InfectionsSelf-TestingAdolescentHumansMaleMenSocial NetworkingTanzaniaHIVHIV self-testingMenSocial networksTanzania

Identifiers

PMID34560878
PMCPMC8464146
OpenAlexW3199904961

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.