Evaluation of OraQuick HIV 1/2 self-test kit in a developing country

Background: For persons who desire to screen themselves for HIV, self-testing for HIV, which involves performing, reading and interpreting their own HIV test, is convenient and confidential. This study aimed to evaluate the performance characteristics of the OraQuick HIV 1/2 self-test and establish the ease of using the HIV self-test kit by persons seeking HIV testing. Methodology: This evaluation was a cross-sectional field-based performance characteristic study with a sample size of 1008. Specimens were taken from the six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. These specimens were then characterised and utilised to evaluate the test kit at a reference laboratory. The data were analysed using IBM-SPSS version 25.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY). The sensitivity and specificity (with 95% confidence interval) of the test were determined. Results: The OraQuick HIV 1/2 self-test had a sensitivity of 98.39%, specificity of 98.42% and accuracy of 97.6%. All the participants (100%) said that the test kit was reasonable, liked the packaging and said that it was easy to read. Almost all respondents (99.9%) said that they would recommend it to others, and 99.8% said that the kit was easy to dispose of and easy to learn. Almost all said that the test was easy to perform, while 99.1% said that the device was comfortable. Conclusion: This evaluation has shown good performance in the testing result, but it has also demonstrated good acceptability of the OraQuick test device by the public members who used the device. This development would also contribute to actualising the sustainable development goal of eradicating HIV by 2030.