Reach and effectiveness outcomes of the "I'm Ready" HIV self-testing program in Black communities in Canada

HIV self-testing is a strategy to scale up HIV testing for communities that face significant barriers to facility-based testing services. The I'm Ready program-an integrated technology solution-is an implementation strategy designed to promote the uptake and use of HIV self-testing kits in Canada. The objective of this study is to examine the reach and effectiveness of the I'm Ready program among Black people in Canada.

We performed a secondary analysis of data for Black people who participated in the I'm Ready implementation study from June 2021 to Dec 2023. We defined reach as the number and percentage of persons with indications for HIV testing who accessed the intervention and effectiveness as the number and percentage of those who ordered test kits and reported test results through the app. Participants' characteristics and variables of interest were summarized using descriptive statistics.

Overall, 3082 (22%-3082/14,071) Black participants accessed the intervention between June 2021 and December 2023. The intervention reached a majority (86%-1846/2141) of Black people with indications for HIV testing who were either first-time testers (38%-824/2190) or had not tested in the previous 1 year (33%-712/2190). Overall, 29% (894/3082) ordered test kits through the app and 31% (274/894) of those who ordered test kits reported their test results. The majority (72%-240/333) of the test results were negative, 26% (87/333) were invalid, and 2% (6/333) of the results reported were positive.

The I'm Ready program reached Black people with indications for HIV testing and facilitated the uptake of HIV self-testing. It could be a potential way to increase HIV testing in Black communities in Canada.