mHealth Interventions to Promote HIV Self-Testing Among Key Populations: A Systematic Review of Effectiveness and...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Digital Health
• HIV Prevention

Background:

• Key populations face unique challenges in accessing HIV testing and care.
• Mobile health (mHealth) offers potential solutions for improving HIV self-testing (HIVST) accessibility.
• Understanding the effectiveness and implementation of mHealth for HIVST is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To systematically review evidence on mHealth interventions for HIVST among key populations.
• To assess effectiveness, uptake, linkage to care, and user experiences.
• To identify implementation outcomes and barriers.

Main Methods:

• Systematic review of eight electronic databases and gray literature.
• Included studies evaluated mHealth interventions supporting HIVST.
• Narrative synthesis due to heterogeneity in study methodologies and contexts.

Main Results:

• Twenty-one studies from diverse income settings were included.
• mHealth interventions (SMS, apps, tele-counseling) showed increased HIVST uptake and acceptability.
• Limited evidence exists for linkage to care; technical barriers and privacy concerns were noted.

Conclusions:

• mHealth interventions are promising for supporting HIVST among key populations.
• Current evidence is preliminary, with variable study quality and high risk of bias in some trials.
• More rigorous, long-term research is necessary to confirm effectiveness and optimize implementation.