Study eligibility criteria

We used the Population/Intervention/Comparators/Outcomes/Time frame framework to define our research questions and study eligibility criteria (table 1). We included primary research investigating the uptake of digital STBBI testing and subsequent positivity, linkage to treatment and/or partner notification rates compared with in-person (provider-based) testing. We included articles describing differential outcomes (as stratified, effect modification or interaction analyses) by any of the PROGRESS-Plus factors. This framework has been used to explore health equity effects of various interventions in systematic reviews.¹⁸ Given limited number of published articles meeting the criteria, we included articles describing differences in uptake of digital STBBI testing using statistical tests of significance (ie, predictors of uptake using any of the PROGRESS-Plus factors). We included peer-reviewed articles and grey literature published in English between 1 January 2010 and 15 March 2022 (the date of the search). Evidence suggests digital STBBI testing interventions likely to be considered for this review have only been implemented at any scale over the last decade; therefore, our review time frame started from January 2010 to ensure we identified all relevant studies.¹¹

Inclusion and exclusion criteria for selected articles

PrEP, pre-exposure prophylaxis; PROGRESS-Plus, Place of residence, Race, Occupation, Gender/Sex, Religion, Education, Socioeconomic status, Social capital and other disadvantaged characteristics; SMS, Short Messaging Service; STBBI, sexually transmitted and bloodborne infection.