Table 1.

Potential benefits of self-test diagnostic technologies for influenza

Benefit	Description
Knowledge of one’s health status	Self-test devices enable users to ascertain their health status [17].
Individual health benefit	Diagnostic devises could allow for more effective self-management of health and medical intervention, reducing the risk of disease, slowing or preventing disease development and/or making treatment more effective [17].
Autonomy	Diagnostic devices as a means of allowing persons to take control of the management of their own health [17].
Privacy and anonymity	Self-testing allows for individuals to conduct diagnostic tests anonymously and in private [14, 19].
Improving the doctor-patient relationship	By enabling individuals to take greater control of their health, rather than, say, being dependent on medical practitioners for knowledge of their current health status, self-testing will allow for a better doctor-patient relationship, one wherein both parties are actively involved in decision-making. [20].
Health benefit to others	Assuming individuals change their behaviour once they receive a positive result, rapid diagnosis could help users from unintentionally passing on infection [14].
Improving health awareness	By giving individuals the ability to monitor their own health status, self-testing may lead to a greater awareness of one’s health and of efforts at health promotion. [58].
Facilitation of public health interventions	By enabling more tests to be conducted and test data to be shared with health systems more easily, some diagnostic tests may enable researchers to identify disease ‘hot spots’ and direct public health interventions accordingly.
Social benefit	Laboratory-independence means tests can often be conducted in diverse settings, most notably those with poor health service or laboratory infrastructure.