Willingness to Participate in At-Home HIV Testing Among Young Adults Who Use Opioids in Rural Appalachia

• Published in: AIDS and behavior Vol. 25; no. 3; pp. 699 - 708
• Main Authors: Ballard, April M., Haardöerfer, Regine, Prood, Nadya, Mbagwu, Chukwudi, Cooper, Hannah L. F., Young, April M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.03.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Analgesics, Opioid - administration & dosage; Analgesics, Opioid - adverse effects; Appalachian Region - epidemiology; Drug abuse; Drugs; Health behavior; Health Psychology; HIV; HIV Infections - diagnosis; HIV Infections - epidemiology; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Testing; Home medical tests; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Kentucky - epidemiology; Medical tests; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Narcotics; Opioid-Related Disorders - complications; Opioid-Related Disorders - epidemiology; Opioid-Related Disorders - psychology; Opioids; Original Paper; Public Health; Rural areas; Rural communities; Rural Health; Rural Population; Young Adult; Young adults; Appalachian Region; Kentucky; Appalachia; United States > US; Home-based testing; Rural health; HIV; Substance-related disorders
• ISSN: 1090-7165; 1573-3254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-020-03034-6

New HIV infections associated with injection drug use are of major concern in rural US communities. This study explores acceptability of, consent for, and uptake of free at-home HIV testing among people who use drugs (PWUD) in one of the nation’s epicenters for drug-related harms and HIV vulnerability: Rural Central Appalachia. Eligible participants were 18–35 years old, lived in Appalachian Kentucky, and reported using opioids to get high in the previous 30 days. A majority reported being likely (63.6%, 96/151) to take a free at-home HIV tests and 66.9% (101/151) consented to receive one. Among those who were randomly selected to receive a Home Access HIV-1 test kit (n = 37), 37.8% mailed in blood spots and 21.6% called to receive results. This study provides evidence that PWUD may be willing to take an at-home test, but other barriers may inhibit actual completion.