Invalid Results in the GetaKit Study in Ottawa: A Real-World Observation of the INSTI® HIV Self-test Among Persons At Risk for HIV.
Patrick O'Byrne, Alexandra Musten, Lauren Orser and 1 others
PMID 35472138WHAT IT FOUND
Reported invalid HIV self-test results averaged 12% of tests ordered among 604 participants.
Sending instructions right after ordering corresponded with lower rates, but invalid results continued.
Key findings
01Eighty-one participants reported eighty-nine invalid results, and monthly invalid rates averaged 12% of ordered tests.
02Six participants reported two invalid results, accounting for 13% of all invalid results, and all but five participants with invalid results reordered a test.
03Invalid rates dropped after detailed instructions were sent immediately after ordering, but they continued at rates over 10%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, so the people who used the service and the invalid rates may not reflect normal times. It was done in one Canadian province where confirmatory HIV testing and care are publicly funded, which may have affected people's willingness to test. The drop in invalid rates after instructions were added was observed for only two months, so it is not known whether the change would last. The service was website-based, which may have left out people with lower computer skills or literacy, and those people might have had more difficulty with the test. Results were self-reported and reporting was not required, so the invalid rates depend on what participants chose to report. The study described rates before and after adding instructions without a comparison group, so it cannot show that the instructions caused the drop.
Declared interests
The authors declared no real or perceived vested interests related to the article. The Ontario HIV Treatment Network funded the project.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the lower invalid rates after instructions as proof that the instructions caused the improvement. The study only described rates before and after adding emails, and the after period lasted only two months.