Evaluating a Real-Time, Remote Monitoring System for Home-Based HIV Testing ((eTEST))

Brown University

Status

Completed

Conditions

HIV

Treatments

Behavioral: Home-based testing only

Behavioral: Reminder letters for clinic-based testing

Behavioral: "Smart" home-based test for HIV

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT02876926

1508001315

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study explores whether offering follow-up counseling and referral over the phone after using a home-based HIV test increases rates of ever and repeat testing, compared with home-based testing with no follow-up (HBST alone) or mailing reminders for clinic-based testing.

Enrollment

65 patients

Sex

Male

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Sex with a partner met online in the past year
Anal sex (either insertive or receptive) with a casual male partner in the past 6 months without using condoms or pre-exposure prophylaxis
Own a smartphone (iOS or Android) with a service contract and data plan
Have a stable address where mail can be received
Speak English fluently

Exclusion criteria

Having tested for HIV in the last year

Trial design

Primary purpose

Diagnostic

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

65 participants in 3 patient groups

"Enhanced" home-based testing

Experimental group

Description:

These participants will download a study-specific smartphone app ("eTEST"), and receive home-based HIV test kits in the mail every 3 months. These kits will have been fit with sensors that enable remote detection of when the kit was opened. Qualified HIV test counselors (QHTC) will then follow up with these participants within 24 hours of receiving notification that the test has been opened to conduct routine counseling, offer referrals for other services, and connect those with reactive results with follow-up care.

Treatment:

Behavioral: "Smart" home-based test for HIV

Home-based testing alone

Active Comparator group

Description:

These participants will receive a typical home-based test for HIV in the mail every 3 months, but no phone-based follow-up will be provided.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Home-based testing only

Reminders for clinic-based testing

Sham Comparator group

Description:

Participants in this condition will receive a letter in the mail every 3 months reminding them to be tested at a local clinic for free.