# Acceptability and Feasibility of Unsupervised HIV Self-Testing Among Networks of Men in Tanzania

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · 2020 · $17,520

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Career Goal: My career goals are to secure a tenure-track faculty position in a university where I can develop
a research program focusing on HIV prevention for networks of men at risk for HIV. In working towards this
goal, my NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) will provide me the training and protected time to
develop an intervention to promote HIV self-testing (HST) among men in Tanzania. Career Development: The
training I will receive during the K99/R00 will allow me to transition from conducting secondary data analyses to
being able to develop and implement interventions and do primary data collection and analysis on the influence
of men's networks on their willingness to self-test and confirm their HIV test results. During the K99 phase, my
goals are to learn: 1) methods in social networking analyses, mixed methods, longitudinal, and multilevel
model designs and analyses; 2) to design, implement, and evaluate HIV prevention interventions; and 3)
increase my knowledge of HIV testing diagnostics. Research Project: In sub-Saharan Africa, men have a
lower HIV testing rate than women for several reasons, including: men interact less with the health care
system; men fear losing respect within their social networks if seen at an HIV testing site; and men perceive a
lack of privacy and confidentiality at healthcare clinics. The OraQuick In-Home HST offers an alternative
testing approach for men that is unsupervised, thus allowing for privacy. However, HST does not provide a
definitive HIV diagnosis. A blood-based HIV test is needed to confirm the diagnosis. For this reason, concerns
remain about the best strategies to ensure men will seek confirmatory blood-based HIV testing and receive the
necessary post-test services to initiate the linkage to care process in case of a positive result. As with facility-
based HIV testing, social networks may affect men's willingness to self-test for HIV. In addition, the perceived
lack of confidentiality and privacy may prevent men from attending a healthcare facility to confirm their test
results. Therefore, interventions that can influence men's social networks' norms towards HST and offer them
an alternative location to confirm their test results may improve men's willingness to self-test and seek
confirmatory testing for HIV. The proposed study will build on an ongoing trial (R01 MH098690-01) among
networks of men in Tanzania. The Specific Aims are to: 1) examine the relationship between social network
characteristics and willingness to self-test and confirm HIV test results at home versus a healthcare facility; 2)
develop an unsupervised HST and confirmatory HIV testing intervention; 3) pilot and refine the intervention
and; 4) assess the acceptability and feasibility of a 18-month unsupervised HST and confirmatory HIV testing
at home or a healthcare facility-based intervention. Mentorship: A team of multidisciplinary experts, including
Drs. Suzanne Maman, Charlotte Gaydos, M...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9977260
- **Project number:** 5R00MH110343-05
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA
- **Principal Investigator:** Donaldson Conserve
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $17,520
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-08-01 → 2020-12-15

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9977260

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9977260, Acceptability and Feasibility of Unsupervised HIV Self-Testing Among Networks of Men in Tanzania (5R00MH110343-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9977260. Licensed CC0.

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