We evaluated the uptake of an at-home syphilis testing option through TakeMeHome, a free HIV/STI self-testing programme, and assessed the correlates of selecting the new testing option in this cross-sectional evaluation.
Data consisted of self-test orders placed between January and July 2025 in jurisdictions that introduced an at-home syphilis self-testing option through TakeMeHome and previously did not offer STI testing through the programme. Poisson regression models with robust standard errors were used to estimate the associations between participant race/ethnicity, gender identity, last HIV/STI test date, status as a previous TakeMeHome tester, and age and the outcome of ordering an add-on at-home syphilis test.
In jurisdictions that did not previously offer an STI testing option, 1234 at-home tests were ordered over the follow-up period, with 907 (74%) orders for an at-home HIV test with an at-home syphilis test. Cisgender women were more likely to be interested in and eligible for the syphilis test compared with cisgender men, after adjustment for race/ethnicity, last HIV/STI test date, being a previous TakeMeHome tester, jurisdiction and age (adjusted PR: 1.22, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.33, p<0.0005).
There was high interest in and uptake of the new at-home syphilis testing option in jurisdictions that previously did not offer at-home STI testing through TakeMeHome.