Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Apr 27, 2022
Date Accepted: Jul 21, 2022
Date Submitted to PubMed: Aug 3, 2022
Spatiotemporal Characteristics and Impacting Factors of Online Purchase of HIV Self-testing Kits in China, 2015-2017: a nationwide study
ABSTRACT
Background:
The HIV self-testing (HIVST) was developed in China around 2015, and meanwhile the HIVST kits could be purchased through online e-commerce platforms.
Objective:
Understanding the spatiotemporal characteristics of online purchasing behavior and identifying potential impacting factors will help promote this new HIV testing strategy.
Methods:
Bayesian spatiotemporal hierarchical model was used to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of HIVST kits online retail data collected from two largest e-commerce platforms in China from 2015 to 2017. The ordinary least squares regression was used to identify potential factors associated with online purchase.
Results:
The online purchase of HIVST kits increased rapidly in China during 2015-2017, with peak sales in May and December. Five economically superior regions showed comparatively higher spatial preference of online purchased HIVST kits. The GDP per capita and the rate of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases per 100,000 persons were identified as two factors that were positively associated with the online purchase, and also the GDP per capita and the rate of newly diagnosed HIV/AIDS cases per 100,000 persons displayed the strongest interactive effect.
Conclusions:
Individuals in better-off areas are more inclined to purchase HIVST kits online. In addition to economy status, the severity of HIV epidemic is also a factor influencing the online purchase of HIVST kits.
Citation
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