Balakrishnan P, Smiline Girija AS, Shanmugam S, Kannan I, Vignesh R, Shankar EM, Sucharitha ST. The Implementation of HIV Self-Testing in Resource-Limited Settings Where the HIV Disease Burden is High.
Int J Public Health 2023;
68:1605790. [PMID:
37266035 PMCID:
PMC10229772 DOI:
10.3389/ijph.2023.1605790]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 05/03/2023] [Indexed: 06/03/2023] Open
Abstract
In resource-limited settings, there is growing evidence that HIV testing is lacking among high-risk key populations such as men having sex with men, injection drug users, and transgenders largely due to stigma, discrimination, and lack of confidentiality. Findings from recent studies among high-risk key populations and the general population from various regions including resource-limited settings support the need for wider accessibility of HIV self-testing (HIV-ST) to reach those who may not otherwise have access to testing. Therefore, HIV-ST has untapped potential as a strategy to improve access to HIV testing and to increase testing frequency among key high-risk populations and their partners. Though HIV-ST has emerged as a safe, acceptable, and effective way to reach people, there are several roadblocks to implementing the HIV-ST policy, and fast-track policy implementation needs to be necessitated with newer or modified strategic plans.
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