Publications by authors named "N Pant-Pai"
Article Synopsis
- There is a growing need for faster detection of sexually transmitted blood-borne infections (STBBIs), leading to the development of digital innovations like AideSmart!, an app that supports multiplexed testing by health care workers in community settings.
- The study aimed to evaluate AideSmart! for its feasibility and impact, allowing healthcare providers to perform rapid STBBI tests while offering counseling and ensuring quality care.
- Results showed that all participants accepted the app's testing strategy, with a majority preferring rapid tests to traditional methods and valuing the quick turnaround of results, which took only 15 minutes.
Digital HIV self-testing as an exemplar: a perspective on benefits, challenges, and opportunities.
Expert Rev Mol Diagn
October 2024
Introduction: Digital human immunodeficiency virus self-testing (HIVST) leverages digital supports, enhancing accessibility, privacy, and early detection of HIV, empowering individuals to manage their HIV status and facilitating timely linkage to care. These advancements contribute to reduced HIV transmission and thereby lead to improved health outcomes.
Areas Covered: This perspective examines the current landscape of digital HIVST strategies, highlighting challenges that must be addressed and opportunities that are presented as the field evolves.
Article Synopsis
- COVID-19 self-testing strategies (COVIDST) are effective in identifying both symptomatic and asymptomatic cases of SARS-CoV-2, potentially lowering virus transmission.
- A systematic review analyzed 70 studies from 25 countries, finding high specificity (98.37-99.71%) for COVIDST, with the highest sensitivity in symptomatic individuals and when using supervised testing methods or digital tools.
- Overall acceptability of self-testing was high (91.0-98.7%), though daily self-testing had lower acceptance, and the feasibility varied significantly, especially for repeated testing.
Background: Low-risk perception is an important barrier to the utilization of HIV services. In this context, offering an online platform for people to assess their risk of HIV and inform their decision to test can be impactful in increasing testing uptake. Using secondary data from the HIVSmart! quasirandomized trial, we aimed to identify predictors of HIV, develop a risk staging model for South African township populations, and validate it in combination with the HIVSmart! digital self-testing program.
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