{"id":2332,"date":"2017-11-30T05:20:12","date_gmt":"2017-11-30T05:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aidsconcern.org.hk\/?page_id=2332"},"modified":"2022-03-18T09:42:12","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T01:42:12","slug":"self-testing","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/aidsconcern.org.hk\/en\/policy-research\/self-testing\/","title":{"rendered":"HIV Self-Testing (Home Test) in Hong Kong"},"content":{"rendered":"
[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1517038765985{padding-top: 80px !important;padding-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1517478629361{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”]International studies have shown that providing the individuals with the option of learning their HIV status in private, self-testing can be effective in increasing HIV testing numbers by alleviating barriers individuals face in accessing facility-based testing, including fear of stigma and discrimination, perceived lack of confidentiality and inconvenience.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/6″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1517474670618{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”][\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text]While self-testing offers great potential for more people to be aware of their HIV status, some people raise concerns over:<\/p>\n
[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1517038824342{padding-bottom: 80px !important;}”][vc_column width=”1\/6″][\/vc_column][vc_column width=”2\/3″][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1517478690791{padding-bottom: 40px !important;}”]With inadequate support to self-testing users, people may misinterpret the HIV test results and miss the opportunity to be linked to care services, which may result in bad public health consequences. AIDS Concern sees that self-testing has a great potential to increase the uptake of HIV testing, and can play an important role in the HIV cascade of care if it is integrated well with the current healthcare system. We will be advocating for self-testing to be more available in Hong Kong.[\/vc_column_text]