Whilst there is much talk about home testing, this looks at assisted self-testing as an option - which was by far the most popular option. It is concerning that many of the participants who had reactive and indeterminate tests chose not to follow up on tests. The fact that almost a third were first time testers indicate that the target population was being reached.
It helped me understand some of the problems with self-testing and home testing and to anticipate some of the issues with this model of testing. There is clearly a need to look at how it is done and reduce the potential patients who then do not follow through with further testing and treating their HIV. Whilst this study was done in a different setting, their methodology and results follow up are things that Australia needs to follow up with to help manage home testing in Australia.
Author bio: Beng Eu is a s100 gp in Melbourne with over 20 years experience in this field. He has also been a co-director of Prahran Market Clinic in Melbourne over this time. His interests include HIV, HCV and AOD.
