Five Waves of an Online HIV Self-Test Giveaway in New York City, 2015-2018.

BACKGROUND: HIV self-tests increase HIV status awareness by providing convenience and privacy, although cost and access may limit use. Since 2015, the New York City (NYC) Health Department has conducted five waves of an online Home Test Giveaway. METHODS: We recruited adult cisgender men who had sex with men (MSM) and transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals who had sex with men, living in NYC, who were not previously HIV-diagnosed, using paid digital advertisements (4-8 weeks per wave). Eligible respondents were emailed a code to redeem on the manufacturer's website for a free HIV self-test and an online follow-up survey ~2 months later. For key process and outcome measures, we present means across five waves. RESULTS: Over five waves of Home Test Giveaway, there were 28,921 responses to the eligibility questionnaire; 17,383 were eligible; 12,182 redeemed a code for a free HIV self-test; and 7,935 responded to the follow-up survey (46% of eligible responses). Among eligible responses, approximately half were Latino/a (mean: 32%) or non-Latino/a Black (mean: 17%). Mean report of never-testing before was 16%. Among 5,903 follow-up survey responses that reported test use, 32 reported reactive results with no known previous diagnosis (0.54%), of whom, 78% reported receiving confirmatory testing. Report of likelihood of recommending the Home Test Giveaway to friends was high (mean: 96%). CONCLUSIONS: We recruited diverse NYC MSM and TGNC and distributed a large number of HIV self-tests to them. Among respondents who reported newly reactive tests, the majority reported confirmatory testing. This appears to be one acceptable way to reach MSM and TGNC for HIV testing, including those who have never tested before.