Interventions for reaching men to improve HIV Testing Services in sub-Saharan Africa: A narrative review

Abstract

Background: The HIV Testing Services (HTS) are a vital component of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention initiatives, and the essential first step to healthcare. Men in South Africa have been shown to test for HIV at a lower rate than women, with a resulting higher mortality rate.

Aim: This narrative review aimed to describe the approaches used to improve the uptake of HTS by men both at the facility and community level in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA).

Method: Online databases were used to search for relevant studies published from 2019 to 2024 in English. A total of 475 records were identified, with 426 being included after duplicates were removed. After reviewing the abstracts, only 13 studies were included in the review.

Results: This findings revealed three themes and seven sub-themes related to improving HTS uptake: improved access to testing (HIV self-testing, community-based testing and workplace testing), motivation and support (stakeholder involvement and creating a demand for testing) and health facility services (facility-based testing and services provided by male healthcare workers).

Conclusion: The limited number of studies highlights the need for more research into developing and testing interventions to encourage men to utilise HTS. A multipronged approach that includes various role-players can be beneficial. This needs to be supported by continuous demand creation utilising platforms such as social media, radio and local newspapers.

Contribution: The study collates the interventions intended to encourage men to undertake HTS in SSA.