Reasons for self-testing—beyond the passive users. Results from a nationwide sample in Germany

Kuecuekbalaban, Pinar; Schmidt, Silke; Muehlan, Holger

doi:10.1007/s10389-017-0795-2

Cited by 1 publication

(5 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Participants were clearly aware of their own health, and they took responsibility for it and saw self‐management of their health as being important. This is in line with the literature, which shows a trend of people taking responsibility for and managing their own health . Whether or not people take action after a positive self‐test result often remains unclear in the literature.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Many reasons to self-test identified in this study are also found in other studies, 9 for example being uncertain about one's health and looking for reassurance or confirmation, not wanting to visit a GP, convenience and costs of self-testing. Noteworthy is that in our study prevention and the ability to take action were of major importance, while in a German study 16 these were less frequently mentioned reasons.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…This is in line with the literature, which shows a trend of people taking responsibility for and managing their own health. 2,[9][10][11][12] Whether or not people take action after a positive self-test result often remains unclear in the literature. However, many of our study participants saw self-test results as a cue to action; they continued their responsible health behaviour and often took immediate action after a positive test result, ranging from changing their lifestyle to consulting a GP.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A questionnaire survey in the UK showed that 47 per 1000 women and 22 per 1000 men have at some point used a self‐test on bodily material (other than a pregnancy or high blood pressure test) . The most frequently used self‐tests in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands include those for cholesterol, glucose, diabetes, kidney disease, HIV, chlamydia, lactose intolerance, allergies, vaginal infection and urinary infection …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…7 The most frequently used self-tests in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands include those for cholesterol, glucose, diabetes, kidney disease, HIV, chlamydia, lactose intolerance, allergies, vaginal infection and urinary infection. 1,[7][8][9] The frequent use of self-testing might be connected to an advantage that is often mentioned: convenient alternative for visiting a GP and taking responsibility for one's own health. 2 For example, after testing positive for risk factors, one might take responsibility and change one's health behaviour in order to avoid disease.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards a decision aid for self‐tests: Users’ experiences in The Netherlands

Oudendammer

Broerse

2019

Health Expectations

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BackgroundSelf‐tests enable the identification of (risk factors for) diseases and are carried out on the user's initiative without medical indication or advice and often unaided by a health professional. They are frequently used, and their availability and usage are expected to grow. Self‐testing has both advantages and disadvantages. Making a well‐informed decision about whether to self‐test and which self‐test to use is of major importance.ObjectiveTo provide insights into the experiences of self‐test users, identifying reasons to self‐test and perceived (dis)advantages of using self‐tests and the information highlighted as relevant by self‐test users to make well‐informed decisions.MethodsIn a qualitative study, 28 users of a wide variety of self‐tests shared their experiences in focus groups and interviews.ResultsPerceived disadvantages of self‐testing included the following: a wide range of available self‐tests, lack of insights into their reliability and content, possibility of mistakes in administering them, possibility of false‐positive and false‐negative results, lack of clarity about how to interpret results and consequently what action to take and fear of not being taken seriously by a general practitioner. Self‐test aspects that were viewed as most important include informed decision making, user‐friendliness, usefulness and reliability of results.ConclusionA decision aid for future self‐test users can help people make a deliberate decision on whether to use a self‐test and which particular self‐test to use from the wide range available. The government, health professionals, patient organizations, consumer organizations and citizens all have a role to play in the development and implementation of a decision aid.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%