College for public Health and Social Justice, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
Department of Clinical Sciences National Institute of Medical Research, Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria.
BMC Public Health. 2021 Jan 7;21(1):67. doi: 10.1186/s12889-020-10072-1.
HIV self-testing (HIVST) provides young people with a convenient, discreet, and empowering way to know their HIV status. However, there is limited knowledge of young people's preferences for HIVST services and potential factors that may influence the uptake of HIVST among this population. The purpose of this research was to use qualitative methods to examine HIVST preferences among Nigerian youth.
Semi-structured in-depth interviews with a purposive sample of young people 14-24 years old were conducted in Lagos, Nigeria. Data were analyzed thematically to identify themes and domains related to preferences and factors influencing the use of HIV self-testing.
A total of 65 youth with mean age of 21 years, were interviewed, and the majority were females (56%). Four themes emerged as the most important characteristics that may influence young people's preferences for HIV self-testing: 1) Cost (i.e. majority of participants noted that they would pay between NGN500 to NGN1,500 naira (USD1.38-USD4.16) for oral HIV self-testing kits); 2) Testing method (i.e. although blood-based sample kits were more popular than oral-based self-testing kits, most preferred the oral-based option due to its perceived benefits and for some, phobia of needles); 3) Access location (i.e. participants suggested they preferred to obtain the HIVST kits from youth-friendly centers, pharmacies, private health facilities, and online stores); and 4) Continuing care and support (i.e. participants highlighted the importance of linkage to care with trained youth health workers for positive or negative test results or toll-free helpline).
HIV self-testing preferences among Nigerian youth appear to be influenced by several factors including lower cost, less invasive testing method, location of testing, and linkage to care and support post testing. Findings underscore the need to address young people's HIV self-testing preferences as a foundation for implementing programs and research to increase the uptake of HIVST.
艾滋病毒自检（HIVST）为年轻人提供了一种方便、保密、赋权的方式来了解自己的艾滋病毒状况。然而，对于年轻人对 HIVST 服务的偏好以及可能影响这一人群接受 HIVST 的潜在因素知之甚少。本研究的目的是使用定性方法来检查尼日利亚青年对 HIVST 的偏好。
在尼日利亚拉各斯，对 14-24 岁的年轻人进行了有针对性的半结构式深入访谈。对数据进行了主题分析，以确定与偏好和影响 HIV 自我检测使用的因素相关的主题和领域。
共有 65 名年龄在 21 岁左右的年轻人接受了采访，其中大多数是女性（56%）。出现了四个主题，这些主题是影响年轻人对 HIV 自我检测偏好的最重要特征：1）成本（即大多数参与者指出，他们将为口腔 HIV 自检试剂盒支付 NGN500 到 NGN1,500 奈拉（USD1.38-USD4.16）；2）检测方法（即虽然基于血液的样本试剂盒比基于口腔的自我检测试剂盒更受欢迎，但大多数人更喜欢基于口腔的选项，因为它具有感知到的好处，而且对某些人来说，对针头的恐惧；3）获取地点（即参与者建议他们更喜欢从青年友好中心、药店、私人卫生设施和在线商店获得 HIVST 试剂盒）；4）持续的护理和支持（即参与者强调了在检测结果为阳性或阴性时与经过培训的青年卫生工作者建立联系的重要性，或提供免费热线）。
尼日利亚青年对 HIV 自检的偏好似乎受到多种因素的影响，包括较低的成本、侵入性较小的检测方法、检测地点以及检测后与护理和支持的联系。这些发现强调了需要满足年轻人对 HIV 自检的偏好，作为实施增加 HIVST 接受度的方案和研究的基础。
