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

April M. Ballard, Regine Haardöerfer, Nadya Prood, Chukwudi Mbagwu, Hannah L.F. Cooper, April M. Young

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

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.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)699-708
Number of pages10
JournalAIDS and Behavior
Volume25
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2021

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Keywords

  • HIV
  • Home-based testing
  • Rural health
  • Substance-related disorders

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Infectious Diseases

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