This study (31 July 2018-current) targeted 15 to 24-year olds in Gauteng Province, South Africa. Youth were invited for in-depth interviews (IDI) and focus group discussions (FGD). Data was collected in English, Setswana, or Zulu. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed, and translated. QSR NVIVO 10 software and an inductive thematic analysis framework was used. Themes were used to develop a discrete choice experiment survey (DCE).

A total of 25 youth with unknown HIV status were interviewed and three FGDs with youth of known HIV status were conducted. Twelve IDIs with males (n=3) and females (n=9) between 15 to 24 years old; and one FGD with females (18-24 years old) were used for the preliminary analysis. Key themes were youth being uncertain of the HIV testing procedure which lead to apprehension or fear of testing. They perceived clinic staff to be judgemental, felt that they did not want to be seen at the clinic and were concerned about being forced to disclose HIV results to family or friends. Youth felt that the location, type of HIV test and level of counselling support received could influence their decision to access HTS. Youth described interest in incentives to encourage testing, preferring those that they perceived to be important and/or financially beneficial. They also expressed interest in communicating and interacting on multiple platforms of social media when being educated about HIV care.