Background. A convenient, private, and accessible HIV self-testing strategy stands to complement facility-based conventional\r\ntesting. Over-the-counter oral HIV self-tests are approved and available in the United States, but not yet in Canada. Canadian data\r\non self-testing is nonexistent.We investigated the feasibility of offering an unsupervised self-testing strategy to Canadian students.\r\nMethods. Between September 2011 andMay 2012, we recruited 145 students froma student health clinic of a large Canadian university.\r\nFeasibility of operationalization (i.e., self-test conduct, acceptability, convenience, and willingness to pay) was evaluated. Selftest\r\nconduct was computed with agreement between the self-test performed by the student and the test repeated by a healthcare professional.\r\nOther metrics were measured on a survey. Results. Participants were young (median age: 22 years), unmarried (97%), and\r\n47% were out of province or international students. Approximately 52% self-reported a history of unprotected casual sex and sex\r\nwith multiple partners. Self-test conduct agreement was high (100%), so were acceptability (81%), convenience (99%), and willingness\r\nto pay (74%) for self-tests. Concerns included accuracy of self-tests and availability of expedited linkages. Conclusion. An unsupervised\r\nself-testing strategy was found to be feasible in Canadian students. Findings call for studies in at-risk populations to inform\r\nCanadian policy.
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