Feasibility of an online antigen self-testing strategy for SARS-CoV-2 addressed to health care and education professionals in Catalonia (Spain). The TESTA'T- COVID Project

Cristina Agustí; Héctor Martínez-Riveros; Victoria González; Gema Fernández-Rivas; Yesika Díaz; Marcos Montoro-Fernandez; Sergio Moreno-Fornés; Pol Romano-deGea; Esteve Muntada; Beatriz Calvo; Jordi Casabona

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0275006

Feasibility of an online antigen self-testing strategy for SARS-CoV-2 addressed to health care and education professionals in Catalonia (Spain). The TESTA'T- COVID Project

PLoS One. 2022 Sep 27;17(9):e0275006. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0275006. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Cristina Agustí^{1

2

3}, Héctor Martínez-Riveros^{1

3

4}, Victoria González^{1

2

5}, Gema Fernández-Rivas⁵, Yesika Díaz¹, Marcos Montoro-Fernandez¹, Sergio Moreno-Fornés^{1

2}, Pol Romano-deGea^{1

3}, Esteve Muntada^{1

3}, Beatriz Calvo⁶, Jordi Casabona^{1

2

3

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health, Centre of Epidemiological Studies on Sexually Transmitted Infections and AIDS of Catalunya (CEEISCAT), Generalitat of Catalunya, Badalona, Spain.
² Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
³ Germans Trias i Pujol Research Institute (IGTP), Campus Can Ruti, Badalona, Spain.
⁴ Department of Paediatrics, PhD in Methodology of Biomedical Research and Public Health, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Preventive Medicine, University Autonoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain.
⁵ Clinical Laboratory North Metropolitan Area, Departament of Genetics and Microbiology, Autonomous University of Barcelona Microbiology, Department, Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, Badalona, Spain.
⁶ Occupational Health and Safety Department, Institut Català d'Oncologia (ICO), L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain.
⁷ Department of Paediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology and Preventive Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Badalona, Spain.

Abstract

We aimed to assess the feasibility of TESTA'T COVID strategy among healthcare and education professionals.in Spain during the peak of the 6th wave caused by Omicron variant. Kits were ordered online and sent by mail, participants answered an online acceptability/usability survey and uploaded the picture of results. 492 participants ordered a test, 304 uploaded the picture (61.8%). Eighteen positive cases were detected (5.9%). 92.2% were satisfied/very satisfied with the intervention; and 92.5% found performing the test easy/very easy. We demonstrated that implementing online COVID-19 self-testing in schools and healthcare settings in Spain is feasible.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / diagnosis
COVID-19* / epidemiology
Delivery of Health Care
Feasibility Studies
Humans
SARS-CoV-2*
Self-Testing
Spain / epidemiology

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the General Direction of the Health Department of the Catalan Government of Catalonia (Spain) [no grant number] and Abbot Laboratories [grant number 8772008]. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.