Researchers at Johns Hopkins University found that patients self-administering HIV tests trusted their results and would self-test at home. Patients also found the test easy to use and would recommend self-testing to a friend.

More than a million people in the United States are HIV-positive, but 20 percent are unaware of their status. Getting more people tested is therefore crucial for these people to receive life-saving treatment and to prevent them from unknowingly infecting others.

This study suggests that an over-the-counter test may become available one day. The privacy and convenience of this method would encourage more people to get tested, which could save thousands of lives.

Patients already tested by health care workers were given the option of self-testing while they waited for their results at the hospital. Eighty-nine percent of patients participated, and only two of the 218 patients had different results from the test administered by the health care worker.

Patients were offered either the OraQuick Advance (oral fluid) or Trinity Unigold (fingerstick) method of testing. They obtained their own samples and followed visual instructions on a template to perform the test. A questionnaire was then conducted to evaluate patients’ opinions of the test.

This study, entitled “Can We Ever Expect to Have Individuals Perform Their Own HIV Rapid Tests?” has not been formally published yet. The abstract was presented at the 47th annual meeting of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) on Friday.

For more information, please read the IDSA abstract (pdf) or listen to the press conference call (mp3).