{"doi":"10.1002/jia2.26456","title":"Feasibility and acceptability of peer‐delivered HIV and syphilis self‐test kits and assisted partner notification services for gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: a qualitative study in Uganda","abstract":"INTRODUCTION: There is a need to combine different approaches to tackle the HIV epidemic, particularly in high-incidence populations. We explored the feasibility and acceptability of using peer-delivered HIV self-testing (HIVST), syphilis self-testing (SST) and assisted partner notification (APN) services among gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM) in Uganda. METHODS: From November 2023 to March 2024, we conducted in-depth interviews with 20 purposively selected GBMSM peers and 10 healthcare workers (HCWs). The GBMSM and HCWs interviews explored their perspectives on (1) the feasibility, acceptability and preferences for peer-delivered interventions (HIVST, SST and APN) and (2) strategies and methods of reaching individuals who had not been tested or tested more than 6 months before the interview. We used a content analysis approach to define and organize codes deductively and inductively to identify themes. RESULTS: The median age of the 20 GBMSM peers was 27 years (interquartile range [IQR], 22-35 years), and 37 years (IQR, 25-52) for the 10 HCWs, of whom seven were female. We identified four emerging categories: (1) Trust: GBMSM peers and HCWs expressed trust in the peer delivery of self-test kits (HIVST and SST) to obtain same-day results effectively. HCWs were preferred over peers for APN services in reaching sexual contacts of index clients for testing; (2) Intimate partner violence (IPV): Although initial concerns about IPV were raised concerning both HIVST programmes and peer APN strategies, such incidents were rarely reported in practice; (3) Entry point: Similar to HIVST, SST was a self-administered activity that served as an entry point for HIV testing discussions among GBMSM who had either never undergone or had postponed testing. Self-test kits could also facilitate pre-sexual testing among GBMSM; (4) Social media: Campaigns on social media dedicated to promoting self-testing could expand testing coverage services to GBMSM vulnerable to HIV and syphilis acquisition. CONCLUSIONS: HCWs and GBMSM peers preferred delivery of self-test kits through peers over facility-based approaches; however, they favoured HCWs for providing APN services. Integrating peer-delivered self-testing programmes into differentiated testing models and leveraging social media influencers could expand testing coverage among GBMSM.","journal":"Journal of the International AIDS Society","year":2025,"id":523405,"datarank":0.0,"base_score":0.0,"endowment":0.0,"self_citation_contribution":0.0,"citation_network_contribution":0.0,"self_endowment_contribution":0.0,"citer_contribution":0.0,"corpus_percentile":null,"corpus_rank":null,"citation_count":4,"citer_count":0,"citers_with_citation_signal":0,"citers_with_endowment":0,"datacite_reuse_total":0,"is_dataset":false,"is_dataset_confidence":0.9505,"is_data_producer":false,"deposit_databanks":null,"is_oa":true,"file_count":0,"downloads":0,"has_version_chain":false,"published_date":"2025-01-01","fair_score":null,"fair_percentile":null,"algorithm_id":"datarank_citation_only_1hop_v6","ranking_scope":"data_only","authors":[{"id":291579,"name":"Andrew Mujugira","orcid":"0000-0001-6646-6733","position":1,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":690864,"name":"Deborah Ekusai‐Sebatta","orcid":"0000-0001-8113-6185","position":2,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1396305,"name":"Adeline Twimukye","orcid":null,"position":3,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1396306,"name":"Peninah Tumuhimbise","orcid":null,"position":4,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":1396307,"name":"Brian Aliganyira","orcid":null,"position":5,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":291576,"name":"Barbara Castelnuovo","orcid":"0000-0001-7756-5032","position":6,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":291580,"name":"Rachel King","orcid":"0000-0002-0085-3498","position":7,"is_corresponding":false},{"id":291575,"name":"Stephen Okoboi","orcid":"0000-0002-8738-0397","position":0,"is_corresponding":true}],"reference_count":26,"raw_metadata":null,"created_at":"2026-07-19T02:50:03.004175Z","pmid":"40390332","pmcid":null,"fwci":null,"citation_percentile":null,"influential_citations":0,"oa_status":null,"license":null,"views":0,"total_file_size_bytes":0,"version_count":0,"fair_f":null,"fair_a":null,"fair_i":null,"fair_r":null,"fair_zscore":null,"fair_rationale":null,"fair_model":null,"fair_agent_version":null,"fair_fulltext_source":null,"fair_has_llm":null,"fair_computed_at":null,"clinical_trials":[],"software_tools":[],"db_accessions":[],"linked_datasets":[],"topics":[]}