HIV Self-Test Experiences and Implementation Considerations Among Transgender Women in the Philippines: Getting Ready for Scale-Up

The Philippines has one of the fastest-growing HIV epidemics in the Asia-Pacific region. Transgender women (TW) in the Philippines face considerable obstacles in accessing HIV testing. HIV self-testing (HIVST) is a promising strategy to improve testing uptake, but there is limited information regarding how TW in the Philippines perceive this approach. We interviewed 25 adult HIV-negative TW from Metro Manila about their experiences, concerns, and recommendations for enhancing the implementation of HIVST within their community. We found four key themes: (1) Empowerment and autonomy as advantages of HIVST; (2) Person-level concerns related to the administration of self-tests, encompassing emotional readiness and concerns about accuracy; (3) Potential for expanding HIVST initiatives through community engagement and access to real-time support; and (4) Possible links between HIVST and other HIV prevention and health promotion services. The findings of this study offer strategies for implementing HIVST among TW in the Philippines.