Self-Sampling Approaches for Sexual Health Testing
Summary
Self-sampling approaches enable individuals to obtain specimens for STI diagnosis without attending a clinic. Methods include self-collected swabs (vaginal, urethral, rectal or pharyngeal), urine samples or capillary blood spots, analysed either by point-of-care devices or returned to laboratories. By reducing barriers such as distance, stigma and clinic hours, self-sampling increases testing uptake, accelerates diagnosis and empowers users. Advances in nucleic acid amplification and portable diagnostics have narrowed the performance gap with clinician-based sampling. Integration with digital platforms streamlines kit registration, pre-test information and secure result delivery. Implementation studies reveal comparable outcomes to conventional testing while improving access among marginalised groups. Current efforts address sample stability during transport, quality assurance of home kits and broader inclusion of infections such as HIV, hepatitis and syphilis.
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Self-Sampling Approaches for Sexual Health Testing publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in self-sampling approaches for sexual health testing across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Self-sampling: The collection of diagnostic specimens by individuals outside the clinical setting, either for immediate testing or laboratory analysis.
e-STI testing: Internet-accessed sexual infection testing services that enable ordering test kits online, self-collection of samples and electronic delivery of results.
Dried blood spot (DBS): A method of collecting capillary blood on filter paper for subsequent serological testing of infections.
Nucleic acid amplification test (NAAT): A highly sensitive laboratory technique that detects genetic material of pathogens to diagnose infections.
References
- Web-Based STI/HIV Testing Services Available for Access in Australia: Systematic Search and Analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research (2023).
- Self-Collected versus Clinician-Collected Sampling for Chlamydia and Gonorrhea Screening: A Systemic Review and Meta-Analysis. PLOS ONE (2015).
- Screening for HIV, hepatitis B and syphilis on dried blood spots: A promising method to better reach hidden high-risk populations with self-collected sampling. PLOS ONE (2017).
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