Introduction
PRS
Index partner testing, whereby the sexual partners of individuals living with HIV are tested for HIV, is critical to reaching the first 95 of the UNAIDS 95-95-95 goals (i.e., 95% of individuals living with HIV know their status) [HIV self-testing (HIVST) offers an alternative strategy to improving index partner testing by allowing people living with HIV to take an HIVST kit home to their sexual partner (“index HIVST”). HIVST can be used in the privacy of partners’ own homes and at times convenient to them [A growing body of literature shows that women seeking antenatal (ANC) services and female sex workers are willing and able to distribute HIVST to their male partners [Further, the barriers to and frequency of partner confirmatory testing and ART initiation after receiving a positive HIVST result at home are still unclear [We conducted an individually randomized controlled trial (RCT) in Malawi to assess the impact of index HIVST on testing uptake among ART clients’ primary sexual partners as compared to standard of care partner referral slips (PRS) and describe ART initiation among diagnosed individuals.