Navigating HIV self-testing: Concerns among adolescents and young people aged 15–24 years in Uganda. An exploratory qualitative study
While AYP have established that HIVST is essential, various concerns need to be addressed to improve its acceptability, up-take and utilisation. Providing more explicit information about the testing procedure, clarifying any misinterpretation of results, and providing easy access to counselling services, especially at distribution points, is crucial towards guaranteeing the effective roll-out of HIVST among young people. Special attention must also be given to marginalised populations, including people living with disabilities, to ensure fairness in their access and utilisation of services. Implementation of all this will be crucial towards maximising the potential benefits of HIVST in Uganda's HIV prevention efforts.
Authors
- Madalitso Mbewe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4965-7616)
- Andrew Sentoogo Ssemata (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0060-0842)
- Richard Muhumuza (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9931-7600)
- Esther Awino
- Rehema Nagawa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0005-9161-3586)
- Jackline Namara
- Joanita Nassali (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8683-3423)
- Felix Rutaro
- Denis Ndekezi
- Chiti Bwalya
- Janet Seeley
- Musonda Simwinga
Institutions
- Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (ZM)
- University of Zambia (ZM)
- London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (GB)
- Zambart (ZM)
- University of Maryland, College Park (US)
- Uganda Virus Research Institute (UG)
Publication Details
- Journal
- PLoS ONE
- Published
- 2026-02-05
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0330000
- Primary Topic
- HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00