Mapping Evidence of Self-Sampling to Diagnose Sexually Transmitted Infections in Women: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a major global healthcare burden, disproportionately affecting women. Self-sampling interventions for diagnostic purposes have the potential to improve STI healthcare management and expand STI services. However, there is currently no published evidence of the global use of self-sampling interventions to diagnose STIs in women. The main aim of this scoping review was to map evidence on the use of self-sampling interventions to diagnose STIs in women. Methodology: The methodology of this scoping review was guided by Arksey and O’Malley and Levac. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Medline (EBSCO), ProQuest, and Cochrane. For grey literature, a search was conducted in Open Grey, World Health Organization, Google, and conference proceedings and dissertations. All search results were screened and assessed for eligibility. Thereafter data from eligible studies was extracted and analysed. The quality of these studies was appraised using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool 2018 version. Results: A total of 770 articles were retrieved from databases and grey literature sources. A total of 44 studies were eligible for data extraction following title, abstract and full-text screening. Of the included studies, 63% presented evidence of research conducted in high-income countries and 37% presented evidence in low- and middle-income countries. Studies presented evidence on the following: feasibility of self-sampling in remote areas; acceptance and ease of use of self-sampling interventions; types of self-sampled specimens; pooled samples for diagnosing STIs; laboratory diagnostic assays for STI using self-sampled specimens; and self-testing of self-sampled specimens. Conclusions: Self-sampling interventions are feasible and easy to use and, therefore, can improve STI management and treatment in women across various age groups and various access levels to good-quality healthcare. Despite this, there is a lack of evidence of self-sampling interventions designed according to user preferences. We recommend studies to collaborate with women to co-develop user-friendly self-sampling interventions to diagnose STIs in women.

Accuracy of self-collected versus healthcare worker collected specimens for diagnosing sexually transmitted infections: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

“…When considering the global burden of STIs on the public health system, such ndings are an indication of how self-sampling for STI diagnosis could be used to improve STI management services across the globe. Although much evidence exists on the use of this intervention in high-income countries (22), the researchers hope that the ndings of this study will capture the attention of governments in LIMCs and cause them to see their need for it. Furthermore, the potential of self-sampling interventions to improve screening of asymptomatic STIs must be recognized and utilized as a tool to ful l goal 3 of the sustainable development goals which is targeted at treating and improving access to quality healthcare for all people across the globe.…”

Accuracy of self-collected versus healthcare worker collected specimens for diagnosing sexually transmitted infections in females: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis

“…When considering the global burden of STIs on the public health system, such findings are an indication of how self-sampling for STI diagnosis could be used to improve STI management services across the globe. Although much evidence exists on the use of this intervention in high-income countries 22 , the researchers hope that the findings of this study will capture the attention of governments in LIMCs and cause them to see their need for it. Furthermore, the potential of self-sampling interventions to improve screening of asymptomatic STIs must be recognized and utilized as a tool to fulfil goal 3 of the sustainable development goals which is targeted at treating and improving access to quality healthcare for all people across the globe.…”

“…Since the potential of self-sampling interventions for STI diagnosis is evident, it is imperative to determine their diagnostic accuracy and reliability. A scoping review conducted by Jaya et al 22 in 2021 presented evidence that supports self-sampling interventions as appropriate alternatives to physician collected specimens for STI diagnosis. A meta-analysis conducted in 2005 proved that self-collected swabs were suitable alternatives to clinician-collected specimens for the diagnosis of human papillomavirus (HPV) 23 .…”

Comparison of Three Diagnostic Methods for Trichomonas vaginalis Detection in a Low-Resource Setting

“…The prevalence of trichomoniasis is higher among women in countries with lower relative development [8,9,10], and populations living in areas with poor health resources may have high incidence rates [11]. Currently, it is recommended that in medical care in regions with low resource conditions, investigation methods for reliable and inexpensive diagnostics and screening tests should be applied [12,13,14,15]. This research aims to comparatively evaluate the efficiency of three simple techniques for trichomoniasis diagnosis in a low-resource setting in the Baixada Fluminense region, Province of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.…”