Effectiveness and user experience of nose and throat swabbing techniques for SARS-CoV-2 detection: results from the UK COVID-19 National Testing Programme.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The UK's National Health Service Test and Trace (NHSTT) program aimed to provide the most effective and accessible SARS-CoV-2 testing approach possible. Early user feedback indicated that there were accessibility issues associated with throat swabbing. We report the results of service evaluations performed by NHSTT to assess the effectiveness and user acceptance of swabbing approaches, as well as qualitative findings of user experiences from research reports, surveys, and incident reports. Our intent is to present and summarize our findings about the application of alternative swabbing approaches during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK.

Methods

From May 2020 to December 2021, NHSTT conducted a series of service evaluations assessing self-swabbing and assisted swabb

SUBMITTER: Futschik ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11731392 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature