Point of Care STI Testing

The proposed research hypothesizes that point-of-care testing (POCT) for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) gonorrhea and chlamydia will be a feasible, acceptable, and appropriate implementation strategy for improving HIV testing and Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) delivery in youth, by increasing opportunities for clinician-patient counseling, decreasing loss to follow up, and allowing for same-day HIV prevention service provision. This hypothesis will be tested in a pragmatic non-randomized trial comparing clinical (HIV testing and PrEP counseling and prescription) and implementation (feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness) outcomes between adolescents receiving POCT compared to laboratory-based testing at three clinics within a large pediatric health system.

Performance study to evaluate the clinical performance of the In-Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device MagIA H3S (a Multiplex Point-of-Care test for the combined detection of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), Hepatitis B and C and Syphilis) from pregnant women attending antenatal care (ANC) services in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This study aligns with the WHO 2022-2030 strategy for the integrated elimination of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, HBV, HCV, and syphilis.