• Neiloy R Sircar and Allan A Maleche.
• Public Health Law Center.
• Afr Health Sci. 2022 Jun 1; 22 (2): 374537-45.

BackgroundKenya's Key and Affected Populations (KAP) - men who have sex with men (MSM), female sex workers, people who inject drugs (PWID), and young women aged 18-24 - often experience stigma and discrimination in Kenyan health care settings due to their identity and/or behaviors, which can deter facility-based testing for HIV. Kenya has promoted self-testing as a means to reach these communities.ObjectivesTo identify KAP perspectives on self-testing and place our findings within Kenya's human rights and legal context.MethodsWe conducted 4 focus group discussions (FGD) and 16 in-depth interviews (IDI). One FGD was conducted with each of the following communities: MSM, female sex workers, PWID, and young women aged 18-24. 1-4 IDI were conducted with each KAP community, and 1-3 IDI were conducted with health professionals working on HIV care in each study site. The semi-structured question guideline included one question soliciting opinions on self-testing.ResultsKAP support self-testing in concept, however prevailing concerns among participants included access to pre- and post-test counseling services, as well as risk for harms (self-inflicted and otherwise) that might result from a positive result.ConclusionKenya should ensure that human rights are promoted and respected through implementing rights-based policies and practices for HIV self-testing, including pre- and post-test counseling.© 2022 Sircar NR et al.

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