Acceptability and feasibility of dual HIV and syphilis point-of-care testing for early detection of infection among pregnant women in China: a prospective study

ObjectiveTo assess the feasibility and acceptability of using WHO prequalified combined dual HIV/syphilis rapid diagnostic tests (RDT) for same-day results in antenatal care (ANC) clinics.MethodsThis is a pragmatic implementation study using quantitative approach to evaluate outcomes. Antenatal clinic attendees from 21 rural and urban township hospitals in two provinces of China were offered with free dual RDTs testing that included HIV and syphilis, in addition to the routine blood tests. Study outcomes included testing uptake before and during dual RDT use, test feasibility and acceptability among pregnant women. Regression model was used to assess acceptance of RDT testing.ResultsIn total, 1787 out of 1828 pregnant women attending ANC received the RDT testing. Testing uptake among pregnant women in their first and second trimester increased from 76.0% (2438/3269) using standard blood testing to 90.1% (1626/1787) with concurrent RDT use (χ2=197.1, p