Feasibility and Acceptability of Self-Collected Rapid Antigen Tests in the Community and at Home
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
; 130(Supplement 2):S132-S133, 2023.
Article
in English
| EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2321761
ABSTRACT
Intro Uptake of SARS-CoV-2 rapid antigen tests (RATs) for self-testing has been high following authorisation by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). However, there are no published Australian data assessing feasibility and compliance with home-based rapid antigen testing. The aim of this study was to determine the acceptability of daily rapid antigen self-testing. Method(s) We prospectively recruited a cohort of hospital employees and students from primary and secondary school to perform daily self-testing using RATs in the home over 14 consecutive days. Participants consenting to the study were supplied with 15 Roche SARS-CoV-2 Antigen Nasal Self Tests, 3 saliva swabs for self-collection for RT-PCR and were asked to record results and answer a daily survey using a smartphone application. Finding(s) 38% (26/68) of the cohort were compliant to 14 consecutive days of testing;this was significantly higher in students (71%) than hospital employees (28%). The median number of tests performed over 14 consecutive days was 11 and time to first missed test was a median 5.5 days. The most common reasons for missing days were "I forgot" (37.5%) and "too busy" (8.9%). Ease of self- nasal swabbing, self-nasal testing. performing the test and using the app were rated as comfortable/very comfortable in over 80% of the cohort. Discussion(s) Most study participants in this Australian cohort were compliant with frequent home-based RATs. By study end most participants (93.8%) found the testing process acceptable/very acceptable. There is need for further work on the cost-effectiveness and impact of self-tested RATs under a range of specific uses and conditions. Conclusion(s) This study provided valuable information on acceptability and feasibility of regular home-based testing which could be applied to other diseases. Ongoing community engagement with clear information on RATs including accuracy and use cases is important for decision-making and addressing concerns, particularly for linguistically diverse peoples.Copyright © 2023
adult; Australian; clinical article; cohort analysis; conference abstract; cost effectiveness analysis; decision making; drug therapy; feasibility study; female; high school; hospital personnel; human; human experiment; male; nonhuman; prospective study; saliva; self-testing; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; smartphone; swabbing; antigen
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Database:
EMBASE
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
International Journal of Infectious Diseases
Year:
2023
Document Type:
Article
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