Testing is the gateway to HIV prevention, treatment, care and other support services. Community testing expands opportunities for testing among individuals who may find testing in traditional health settings less accessible or acceptable. Community testing aims to detect HIV early. Early HIV diagnosis and treatment initiation leads to a normal life expectancy (benefit at individual level), and prevents transmission to others (benefit at population level). The increase in testing numbers in these settings is encouraging. The reactivity rate seen in community settings where key populations live and socialise demonstrates the benefit of expanding testing beyond traditional health settings, reaching those who are underserved. Community testing is part of a broader strategy to increase access to HIV testing, including home and self-testing. Combining these methods with facility-based testing enhances access and reduces the number of people living with HIV who are unaware of their status.

HIV community testing, also termed voluntary community-based HIV testing (VCBT), can be defined as HIV testing which occurs outside of established healthcare facilities. VCBT is designed to make testing more accessible, with the aim of improving detection, initiating early treatment, and preventing onward transmission, and is particularly tailored to communities most vulnerable to HIV acquisition. These include gbMSM, transgender women, people who inject drugs (PWID), sex workers, and people from geographic areas with a high prevalence of HIV. VCBT occurs in a variety of settings worldwide, including LGBTQ+ bars, clubs and community centres; sex-on-premises venues such as bathhouses and saunas; mobile outreach testing vans; testing in ethnic, cultural and community centres and organisations; refugee accommodation centres; drug treatment centres and one-off large community events, amongst others. This report presents a summary of HIV community testing in Ireland during 2023 and aims to give an overview of the magnitude of community testing occurring in the country, the reactivity rate for those tested, and the demographic characteristics of those both accessing community testing and those with a reactive test.

P.9 Demographic characteristics - People who have ever injected drugs