Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting

<p><strong>Background: </strong>During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the UK government began a mass severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing program. This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of organized...

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Main Authors: Hirst, JA, Logan, M, Fanshawe, TR, Mwandigha, L, Wanat, M, Vicary, C, Perera, R, Tonkin-Crine, S, Lee, JJ, Tracey, I, Duff, G, Tufano, P, Besharov, M, Tarassenko, L, Nicholson, BD, Hobbs, FDR
Format: Journal article
Language:English
Published: Oxford University Press 2021
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author Hirst, JA
Logan, M
Fanshawe, TR
Mwandigha, L
Wanat, M
Vicary, C
Perera, R
Tonkin-Crine, S
Lee, JJ
Tracey, I
Duff, G
Tufano, P
Besharov, M
Tarassenko, L
Nicholson, BD
Hobbs, FDR
author_facet Hirst, JA
Logan, M
Fanshawe, TR
Mwandigha, L
Wanat, M
Vicary, C
Perera, R
Tonkin-Crine, S
Lee, JJ
Tracey, I
Duff, G
Tufano, P
Besharov, M
Tarassenko, L
Nicholson, BD
Hobbs, FDR
author_sort Hirst, JA
collection OXFORD
description <p><strong>Background: </strong>During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the UK government began a mass severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing program. This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of organized regular self-testing for SARS-CoV-2.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a mixed-methods observational cohort study in asymptomatic students and staff at University of Oxford, who performed SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow self-testing. Data on uptake and adherence, acceptability, and test interpretation were collected via a smartphone app, an online survey, and qualitative interviews.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Across 3 main sites, 551 participants (25% of those invited) performed 2728 tests during a follow-up of 5.6 weeks; 447 participants (81%) completed at least 2 tests, and 340 (62%) completed at least 4. The survey, completed by 214 participants (39%), found that 98% of people were confident to self-test and believed self-testing to be beneficial. Acceptability of self-testing was high, with 91% of ratings being acceptable or very acceptable. A total of 2711 (99.4%) test results were negative, 9 were positive, and 8 were inconclusive. Results from 18 qualitative interviews with students and staff revealed that participants valued regular testing, but there were concerns about test accuracy that impacted uptake and adherence.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This is the first study to assess feasibility and acceptability of regular SARS-CoV-2 self-testing. It provides evidence to inform recruitment for, adherence to, and acceptability of regular SARS-CoV-2 self-testing programs for asymptomatic individuals using lateral flow tests. We found that self-testing is acceptable and people were able to interpret results accurately.</p>
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spelling oxford-uuid:853d9b69-45eb-419e-b98e-ef2a943730c62024-06-20T09:27:15ZFeasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university settingJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:853d9b69-45eb-419e-b98e-ef2a943730c6EnglishSymplectic ElementsOxford University Press2021Hirst, JALogan, MFanshawe, TRMwandigha, LWanat, MVicary, CPerera, RTonkin-Crine, SLee, JJTracey, IDuff, GTufano, PBesharov, MTarassenko, LNicholson, BDHobbs, FDR<p><strong>Background: </strong>During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020, the UK government began a mass severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing program. This study aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of organized regular self-testing for SARS-CoV-2.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a mixed-methods observational cohort study in asymptomatic students and staff at University of Oxford, who performed SARS-CoV-2 antigen lateral flow self-testing. Data on uptake and adherence, acceptability, and test interpretation were collected via a smartphone app, an online survey, and qualitative interviews.</p> <p><strong>Results: </strong>Across 3 main sites, 551 participants (25% of those invited) performed 2728 tests during a follow-up of 5.6 weeks; 447 participants (81%) completed at least 2 tests, and 340 (62%) completed at least 4. The survey, completed by 214 participants (39%), found that 98% of people were confident to self-test and believed self-testing to be beneficial. Acceptability of self-testing was high, with 91% of ratings being acceptable or very acceptable. A total of 2711 (99.4%) test results were negative, 9 were positive, and 8 were inconclusive. Results from 18 qualitative interviews with students and staff revealed that participants valued regular testing, but there were concerns about test accuracy that impacted uptake and adherence.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This is the first study to assess feasibility and acceptability of regular SARS-CoV-2 self-testing. It provides evidence to inform recruitment for, adherence to, and acceptability of regular SARS-CoV-2 self-testing programs for asymptomatic individuals using lateral flow tests. We found that self-testing is acceptable and people were able to interpret results accurately.</p>
spellingShingle Hirst, JA
Logan, M
Fanshawe, TR
Mwandigha, L
Wanat, M
Vicary, C
Perera, R
Tonkin-Crine, S
Lee, JJ
Tracey, I
Duff, G
Tufano, P
Besharov, M
Tarassenko, L
Nicholson, BD
Hobbs, FDR
Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting
title Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting
title_full Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting
title_fullStr Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting
title_full_unstemmed Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting
title_short Feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies (FACTS) in a university setting
title_sort feasibility and acceptability of community coronavirus disease 2019 testing strategies facts in a university setting
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