Home HIV Testing for Older Adults and Their Family and Community Members: a Three-arm Randomized Controlled Trial in Rural South Africa

Background In the first wave of a large population-representative study of older adults in rural South Africa, the 'Health and Aging in Africa: A Longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI)' study, large gaps in knowledge of HIV status were found among participants, coupled with low rates of recent HIV testing and high rates of sexual behaviour that can lead to acquisition and transmission of HIV. In general, older adults should test for HIV at least once per year (HIVAge.org), but few do so, in part because current HIV testing programmes have traditionally focused on young and middle-age adults and HIV testing facilities are often difficult to access for older populations. Only 17% of older adults in the HAALSI community reported having tested for HIV in the past 6 months.

Home testing can provide a powerful approach to bring the health systems 'function' of HIV testing to older adults in rural Africa. In the routine health system, community health workers, such as the South African community care givers, could provide this 'function' on a regular basis. Home rapid HIV testing and HIV self-test kits have been intensively studied in many populations. HIV self-test kits have recently become available as over the- counter products in South Africa, after the South African Pharmacy Council (SAPC) lifted a ban on their sale in pharmacies in December 2016.

To date, however, no study has compared head-to-head different 'forms' of home testing for HIV. In this study, the investigators aim to establish the comparative effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of three different options of home HIV testing among older adults in rural South Africa: (1) home delivery of HIV self-test kits, (2) home HIV rapid testing, and (3) both home delivery of HIV self-test kits and home HIV rapid testing.

Overall, home HIV testing is likely attractive for older adults because it allows testing without having to visit a health care facility. Home delivery of HIV self-testing kits has the additional advantage that it allows HIV testing in a place and at a time of one's own choosing. Home approaches to HIV testing are particularly policy-relevant at this time, because South Africa and many other countries in sub-Saharan Africa are currently expanding in re-designing their community health worker programs, through which home HIV testing could be provided on a routine basis.

Preliminary evidence in this and in other populations have suggested that HIV testing and linkage to HIV treatment and care improve health care utilization for other non-HIV chronic care and reduce risky sexual behavior. The investigators will thus not only assess the effects of the different home HIV testing offers on HIV testing but also assess comparative effects on healthcare utilization, noncommunicable disease endpoints, and sexual behaviors.