Testing for HIV infection at home

Article Abstract:

The US Food and Drug Administration should approve a home test kit for HIV infection. When these test kits were proposed in 1989, opposition from the gay community and the Centers for Disease Control forced the FDA to ban their development. However, the new political climate and the success of telephone hotlines led an FDA committee in 1994 to approve the development and marketing of home HIV test kits. Consumers who purchase such a kit would prick their finger and place a sample of blood on a test paper that would be sent to a laboratory for analysis. The person would be notified of the results by phone and offered counseling. In a 1992 survey, 42% of those with risk factors for HIV infection said they would use a home test kit. There is no evidence that people who are notified of their HIV-positive status by phone would be more likely to commit suicide. A home test kit and its associated telephone hotline may actually increase the number of people who receive counseling, since many people who use existing HIV testing clinics receive little counseling.

Analysis, Product development, Laws, regulations and rules

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Potential use of home HIV testing

Article Abstract:

A home HIV test kit may increase the number of people who are tested for HIV infection and reduce the amount of public funds used for this purpose. The US Food and Drug Administration is currently evaluating whether to approve these kits for home use. Data from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey reveal that 29% of the 20,974 people interviewed said they might use such a home test kit. Forty-two percent of the 2,523 people at risk for HIV infection said they might use the test and almost two-thirds had never been tested before outside of a blood donation facility. Thirty-one percent said they prefer a home test kit over any other means of testing. Young non-white men with little education and a low income were more likely to say they would use a home test kit. The home test kit could cost between $30 to $40, but this would still be less than the $50 charged by public clinics and physicians. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spent $103 million on HIV testing and counseling in 1992.

Usage, Surveys

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AIDS prevention - sexual ethics and responsibility

Article Abstract:

It may be time for AIDS prevention organizations to emphasize the role of personal responsibility in stopping the spread of HIV infection. In the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, few people thought much about the responsibility of HIV-infected people to disclose their status to their sexual partners. This was considered an invasion of privacy and anti-gay. Instead, most AIDS prevention organizations encouraged non-infected people to protect themselves during sexual intercourse by using a condom. When disclosure was encouraged, it was usually to relieve infected people of the burden of maintaining a secret. However, many women can not always get their partner to use a condom. In 1995, a gay journalist published an article emphasizing the responsibility of HIV-infected people to disclose their status and claiming that AIDS organizations had ignored this tactic.

Sexual behavior, Prevention, Ethical aspects, HIV patients, AIDS (Disease), Responsibility

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