Napneung
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Worldwide, nearly 20% of people living with HIV are not aware of their infection and are thus at risk of transmitting HIV to others and of developing AIDS. This is a clear indicator that uptake of regular HIV testing by at-risk individuals is insufficient.

Napneung is an interventions research program offering anonymous testing and counseling services for HIV and other infections in northern Thailand.

In the first phase (2015-2019), more than 5,700 single clients received testing and counseling services for HIV, hepatitis B and C and syphilis. Various strategies to optimize HIV testing services were evaluated, including reducing the time spent on counseling and increasing the uptake of HIV retesting by at-risk individuals. In a first randomized controlled trial (RCT), computer-assisted counseling was found to significantly reduce the time spent on counseling while having similar efficacy as standard counseling in terms of uptake of retesting, change in HIV knowledge, change in sexual risk behaviors, and acceptability. In a second RCT, scheduling an appointment and sending a reminder one week before was found to be a simple, easy-to-implement and affordable intervention that significantly increased the uptake of HIV retesting by at-risk individuals.

The ongoing second phase (2019-2022) aims at improving access to efficient HIV prevention, testing and referral services in the healthcare system for at-risk individuals living in medium-sized cities in Thailand. In particular, the focus is on optimizing the delivery of HIV testing and counseling services, for example using self-tests under supervision, a computer-assisted counseling program and an online appointment booking system.
Website: https://www.napneung.net/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/napneung/

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02752152, NCT04585165

Main publications:
  • Salvadori N, Decker L, Ngo-Giang-Huong N, Mary JY, Chevret S, Arunothong S, Adam P, Khamduang W, Samleerat T, Luangsook P, Suksa-Ardphasu V, Achalapong J, Rouzioux C, Sirirungsi W, Jourdain G. Impact of counseling methods on HIV retesting uptake in at-risk individuals: a randomized controlled study. AIDS Behav. 2020 May;24(5):1505-1516. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-019-02695-2. PubMed PMID: 31605294.
  • Salvadori N, Adam P, Mary JY, Decker L, Sabin L, Chevret S, Arunothong S, Khamduang W, Luangsook P, Suksa-Ardphasu V, Achalapong J, Rouzioux C, Sirirungsi W, Ngo-Giang-Huong N, Jourdain G. Appointment reminders to increase uptake of HIV retesting by at-risk individuals: a randomized controlled study in Thailand. J Int AIDS Soc. 2020 Apr;23(4):e25478. doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/jia2.25478. PMID: 32294318; PMCID: PMC7159062.
  • Web Annex K. Global examples of HIV testing services. In: Consolidated guidelines on HIV testing services, 2019. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2020. Available at: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/335884/9789240011823-eng.pdf