2026-10-12T09:27:57Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34000737 2026-09-25T18:00:17Z category_7 category_21 category_873 category_45 category_106 portal_5 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<p>Demographics of study population.</p> Carolyn R. Oliver (25111537) Meagan J. Bemer (14989772) Amber Lauff (25111540) Jennifer F. Morton (10263020) Shawna Cooper (11049471) Hilton Humphries (558697) Anjali Sharma (538603) Derek Pollard (2119792) Anna Winters (3399818) Alastair van Heerden (512947) Elizabeth Bukusi (342666) Dino Rech (194471) Paul K. Drain (7507781) Medicine Biotechnology Chemical Sciences not elsewhere classified Sociology Science Policy public health programs lowering barriers associated 12 months ago easy &# 8221 research team member 15 years old zambia suggest promise either &# 8220 high blood glucose blood glucose tests blood pressure measured xlink "> home participants reported living 90 %) participants administered hiv tests zambia </ p blood glucose self &# 8220 blood glucose blood pressure study team 52 %) 41 years south africa saharan africa rural communities rural areas participant preferences lmics ). income countries healthcare delivery based researcher average age accelerate access (& gt <div><p>Home-based self-testing may improve individual health outcomes and public health programs by lowering barriers associated with clinic-based testing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We assessed the acceptability and usability of conducting home-based self-testing for HIV and blood glucose and home-based researcher-conducted testing for blood pressure in sub-Saharan Africa. We enrolled participants (≥15 years old) from households in peri-urban and rural communities of Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia. Participants opted in to self-directed testing for HIV and blood glucose and had their blood pressure measured by a research team member. Our primary measures included HIV status and testing history, HIV and blood glucose test results, blood pressure, self-reported usability and acceptability of self-testing, and participant preferences for future self-testing. Among the 526 participants from 100 households enrolled per country, the average age was 41 years and 63% were female. Overall, 16% of participants reported living with HIV. Over half of participants (52%) had last tested for HIV > 12 months ago or had never tested for HIV, and 8% of participants were unsure of their HIV status. Among participants who self-tested, 2% (n = 6/330) tested positive for HIV and 4% (n = 18/469) had high blood glucose, while 26% (n = 131/502) had high blood pressure measured by the study team. Only 14% of study participants reported previous self-testing. Most (>90%) participants who self-tested rated all procedures for HIV and blood glucose tests as either “very easy” or “fairly easy” to use. Most participants (87%, n = 458/526) preferred home-based testing. Home-based self-testing for HIV and blood glucose and home-based blood pressure measurement were acceptable, usable and preferred in peri-urban and rural areas of Kenya and South Africa; findings from Zambia suggest promise for home-based testing but were limited by staff-administered HIV tests. Self-testing has the potential to expand and accelerate access to healthcare delivery in LMICs.</p></div> 2026-09-25T18:00:06Z Dataset Dataset 10.1371/journal.pgph.0005445.t001 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_p_Demographics_of_study_population_p_/34000737 CC BY 4.0