Concerns around HIV self-tests

SOUTH African students, who make up one of the highest sexually active groups in society, would rather self-test at home for HIV than go to a health facility.

That’s according to research done by the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Pretoria, which surveyed over 3 500 students from 13 technical vocation education and training colleges in Gauteng and North West.

The study found that 75% of the students, whose average age was 21.9 years, showed a willingness to do HIV selftesting (HIVST).

It said the majority would do so with their partners, and that threequarters said they would confirm the test results at a local health facility.

“In terms of counselling, telephone hotlines were acceptable to only 39.9%, and less than half felt that test kit leaflets would provide sufficient information to self-test,” the study said.

While HIVST has not yet been rolled out at public health centres, pharmacies are now legally allowed to sell the tests due to a recent change in law.

Ministry of Health spokesman Joe Maila said the HIVST should be called “self-screening” because the kit was used for screening purposes and results still needed to be confirmed.

“It’s not available in the public sector as we are awaiting the World Health Organisation to pre-qualify the kits for quality assurance purposes,” Maila said.

Mary-Jane Matsolo, from the Treatment Action Campaign, said there were a number of concerns around the HIVST kits including access to counselling and administering the test itself.

“When you test for HIV you need to have a certain level of counselling. It is a worry that there would be no control of whether a person taking the test has had counselling,” Matsolo said.

Maila said people could treat HIVST like a home pregnancy test, but that HIV counselling needed to be provided.