Uptake, accuracy, safety and linkage into care over two years of promoting annual self-testing for HIV in Blantyre, Malawi: a community-based prospective study

A set of anonymised datasets produced in a community-based study to investigate self-testing for HIV in Blantyre, Malawi. Taken together the datasets enable replication of findings from the study including estimation of uptake of HIV self-testing (HIVST), analysis of sensitivity/specificity of self-reported self-test results compared to nurse-performed finger prick testing, and investigation of self-reported coercion to self-test. HIVST was made available to 14 neighbourhoods of ~1,200 adult residents each, two of whom were responsible for implementation of recruitment between February 2012 and April 2014. In general, paper-based data collection followed by electronic processing using optical mark reading software (OMR) with Microsoft Access database was used for all data collection tools. A register of all neighbourhood residents who requested (were given) an HIVST kit was kept by the volunteer neighbourhood counsellor. These data were later extracted and electronically processed and gave rise to the HIVST uptake dataset. Data collection tools used in the study available upon request by emailing Liz Corbett. For the quality assurance dataset, a systematic sample of HIVST participants was selected for home-visit by study nurses aiming for minimum 5% coverage. Checks included age, confirmation of residency, whether or not HIVST kits had been used, and self-read result with offer of confirmatory testing (finger-prick blood parallel testing with Determine 1/2, Alere, Waltham, USA and Uni-Gold Recombigen HIV, Trinity Biotech, Bray, Ireland). A self-completed questionnaire (SCQ) was given to all participants at the time a HIVST kit was given. The participant was requested to return both the SCQ and the used kit, and to drop them in a sealed ballot box. A self-reported self-test result was then recorded by the participant along with acceptability indicators and whether or not they had been forced to self-test. The returned used kit and the SCQ were sent to the laboratory where technicians re-read all used kits and recorded the result on the SCQ.