Researchers and HIV experts have always highlighted that men’s reluctance and hesitancy to test for the virus has complicated the war against the pandemic.
There are also growing fears that men who are not on antiretroviral treatment contribute to high numbers of new infections among young women and HIV-related deaths among the rest of men.
A study by a northern KwaZulu-Natal-based research organisation, Africa Health Research Institute, shows that offering monetary incentives as little as R50 will encourage men to get tested for the virus.
“AHRI conducted a cluster randomised controlled trial called ‘home-based intervention to test and star’ to determine if providing financial incentives and an HIV-specific support decision App can increase uptake of HIV testing and HIV treatment among men, and ultimately lower the number of new HIV infections among young women,” according to the new study.
“Our results show that a small financial incentive dramatically increased the uptake of home-based HIV testing among men.
“A R50 financial incentive dramatically increases the uptake of home based HIV testing among men.
“This could offer a solution to the challenge of getting more men to test for HIV and start treatment.”
The study also discovered that a small financial incentive can increase the uptake of HIV testing among women.
“The financial incentive arm was about five times more likely to diagnose people living with HIV among men who reported having never tested HIV-positive previously, compared to the standard of care arm.”
The researchers recommend that the Health Department consider implementing financial micro incentives to increase uptake of HIV testing in populations or areas with low HIV-testing coverage.
They suggest that financial incentives can be combined with other interventions that aim to increase internal motivation to link to care.
A 2019 study by the Human Research Council of South Africa on HIV prevalence and incidents behavior found that men living with HIV are less likely to get tested or initiate a treatment.
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