Values and preferences of the general population in Indonesia in relation to COVID-19 self-testing: A cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Objectives: Innovative 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 self-tests for SARS-CoV-2 to determine their COVID-19 status. To assess the acceptability of SARS-CoV-2 self-testing among the general population in Indonesia, a cross-sectional, population-based survey was conducted in mid-2021 in Jakarta and the provinces of Banten and North Sulawesi. Methods: This was a survey that approached respondents in >600 randomly selected street-points in the three study geographies. A 35-item questionnaire was used to collect data on key variables, such as willingness to use and to pay for a SARS-CoV-2 self-test and likely actions following a positive result. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were performed. Results: Of 630 respondents, (318 were female), 14% knew about COVID-19 self-testing, while 62.7% agreed with the concept 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 e.g., weekly if recommended. Upon receiving a positive self-test result, most respondents would communicate it (86.03%), request post-test counseling (80.79%), self-isolate (97.46%), and/or warn their close contacts (n=570, 90.48%). Conclusions: SARS-CoV-2 self-testing would be acceptable to a majority of the Indonesian public, to learn whether they have COVID-19. Self-testing could contribute to an over-burdened healthcare system by helping COVID-19-infected people become agents of change in epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in their communities.

Self-testing for SARS-CoV-2 in São Paulo, Brazil: results of a population-based values and attitudes survey

“…Of the self-testing acceptability studies that have been conducted, our survey findings are aligned with the results of studies conducted in Germany [9], Indonesia [26], Nigeria [27], Kenya [28], the United Kingdom [33], and Greece [34,35] and Cyprus [34], where the study populations also manifested a willingness to use selftesting. Of these studies, only the inquiries in Indonesia [26], Kenya [28], Greece [34,35] and Cyprus [34] targeted the general public. Comparing our survey with that of Goggolidou et al [34] and Mouliou et at.…”

“…In our inquiry, acceptability was conceptualized as a composite of the public’s values toward self-testing, including agreement with the concept of self-testing (73.91% and 60.09% of female and male respondents were in agreement, respectively); willingness to pay for self-testing (if available at an average price of 5.64 USD (SD 4.73) for the 69% of respondents who would pay for a self-test device); willingness to serially self-test (44.57% of females and 39.48% of males expressed willingness to perform weekly self-tests); and likelihood to use self-testing (12.95% and 36.21% of respondents were “very likely” or “likely”, respectively, to use a self-test). Although satisfactory, the rates of likelihood to use a self-test were not as high as those found in Indonesia [ 26 ], Nigeria [ 27 ], or Kenya [ 28 ], other countries where surveys of people’s values and attitudes towards self-testing were conducted in 2021 using the same methodology we used in São Paulo.…”

“…If social safety nets are not provided, self-isolation and reporting of a SARS-CoV-2 infection might be neither feasible nor desirable for affected people. As other self-testing studies in Indonesia and Nigeria have suggested, self-isolation might only be guaranteed if there are provisions in place to ensure that those who use a self-test do not lose their job or social position [ 26 , 27 ].…”

“…A 35-point questionnaire was used; the questionnaire had been informed by previous FIND-led studies of communities’ values around self-testing for HCV [ 21 ]. It included items about respondents’ socio-demographics; previous experiences with conventional COVID-19 testing; knowledge of other self-tests; likelihood to use self-testing; willingness to pay for self-testing; barriers to using self-testing; and likely actions upon self-testing positive or negative for SARS-CoV-2 [ 26 ]. The questionnaire was designed in English, translated into Portuguese, and pre-piloted in São Paulo among staff in the premises of the survey implementing organization, Instituto Locomotiva.…”

COVID-19 self-testing, a way to “live side by side with the coronavirus”: results from a qualitative study in Indonesia

“…In this context, our study shows that self-testing, if endorsed by health authorities and distributed alongside awarenessraising and pre-and post-test counseling, could represent an easy to use, private, and convenient solution that would be bene cial in identifying asymptomatic carriers, initiating earlier isolation and contact tracing, and, ultimately, decreasing the transmission rates of SARS-CoV-2 in Indonesia. This is in line with ndings from a cross sectional survey in Indonesia which found that 62.7% of people agreed with the concept of people being able to self-test for COVID-19 [13].…”