Values and preferences of the general population in Indonesia in relation to rapid COVID‐19 antigen self‐tests: A cross‐sectional survey
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Abstract
Objectives
Home diagnostics are essential to assist members of the general population become active agents of case detection. In Indonesia, a country with an over‐burdened healthcare system, individuals could use rapid SARS‐CoV‐2 antigen tests to self‐detect COVID‐19. To assess the general population's values and attitudes towards SARS‐CoV‐2 self‐testing, a survey was conducted in mid‐2021 in Jakarta and the provinces of Banten and North Sulawesi.
Methods
This was a quantitative survey that approached respondents in >600 randomly selected street‐points in the three study geographies in July–August 2021. A 35‐item questionnaire was used to collect data on key variables, such as likelihood to use a SARS‐CoV‐2 self‐test, willingness to pay for a self‐test device, and likely actions following a positive self‐test result. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed.
Results
Of 630 respondents (318 were female), 15.53% knew about COVID‐19 self‐testing, while 62.70% agreed with the idea of people being able to self‐test at home, unassisted, for COVID‐19. If self‐tests were available in Indonesia, >60% of respondents would use them if they felt it necessary and would undertake regular self‐testing for example weekly if recommended. Upon receiving a positive self‐test result, most respondents would communicate it (86.03%), request post‐test counselling (80.79%), self‐isolate (97.46%), and/or warn their close contacts (90.48%).
Conclusions
The use of rapid SARS‐CoV‐2 antigen detection tests for self‐testing appears acceptable to a majority of the Indonesian public, to learn whether they have COVID‐19. Self‐testing should be prioritised to complement to an over‐burdened healthcare system by helping the public, asymptomatic individuals included, become agents of change in epidemiological surveillance of SARS‐CoV‐2 in their communities.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2022.01.23.22269718: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics Consent: The eligibility criteria were that participants had to be aged ≥18 years, willing to provide informed consent, and without symptoms compatible with COVID-19 disease. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization Second, using a random number generator (RANDOM. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis To understand whether differences based on geographical location influenced the acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 self-testing, sample size calculations were performed separately for each site. Table 2: Resources
Software and Algorithms Sentences Resources First, one site per geography was selected, with the boundary of each site defined using Google MyMaps®. Google MyMaps®suggested: NoneResults …
SciScore for 10.1101/2022.01.23.22269718: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics Consent: The eligibility criteria were that participants had to be aged ≥18 years, willing to provide informed consent, and without symptoms compatible with COVID-19 disease. Sex as a biological variable not detected. Randomization Second, using a random number generator (RANDOM. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis To understand whether differences based on geographical location influenced the acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 self-testing, sample size calculations were performed separately for each site. Table 2: Resources
Software and Algorithms Sentences Resources First, one site per geography was selected, with the boundary of each site defined using Google MyMaps®. Google MyMaps®suggested: NoneResults from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:A number of limitations must be considered. During the implementation of this survey in rural geographies, the surveyors found a significant number of neighborhoods whose perimeters could not be crossed by order of local authorities. The surveyors had to select new, nearby recruitment street-points, which may have introduced recruitment bias. In Jakarta, the surveyors worked on some very crowded streets. Many individuals who were approached (n=235) refused to even let the surveyors explain the purpose of the survey; it is impossible to know whether these individuals’ characteristics differed from consenting respondents’ characteristics. Another limitation relates to the country’s cultural and socio-economic diversity. Despite the choice of Banten and North Sulawesi as geographies with very different social strata, it is possible that the survey findings would have been different if other regions had been sampled. Finally, it must be noted that the cross-sectional design limited our capacity to statistically establish causal relationships between likelihood to use self-testing, willingness to pay, and associated factors. In conclusion, the Indonesian public appreciates self-testing diagnostics for detection of infectious diseases and would use SARS-CoV-2 self-tests if widely available. As recommended by health authorities, it is highly probable that self-test users would report positive results and would self-isolate, warn their contacts, and continue wearing face masks. In In...
Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.
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