Croxford S, Tavoschi L, Sullivan AK, et al. - Researchers performed systematic searches for studies illustrating effective HIV testing interventions and barriers to testing in order to integrate the body of recent evidence on strategies aimed at enhancing the uptake and coverage of HIV testing outside of healthcare settings in the European Union/European Economic Area. They recognized 80 studies on HIV testing in non-healthcare settings; majority of these were set in Northern Europe. The analysis suggest a pivotal role of testing outside of traditional healthcare settings in diagnosing HIV infection, particularly among people at greater risk of infection and people who have not been screened previously. In addition, both providers and users identify testing outside of healthcare settings, particularly rapid testing, as highly acceptable, making it a vital component of a well-designed, comprehensive HIV testing strategy. Other interventions aimed at improving HIV testing were: campaigns, communication technologies, education, and community networking. Given the limited geographical spread of studies and the presence of only a few intervention studies reporting before and after data, they recognized it difficult to evaluate the impact of interventions on test coverage. Hence they emphasize including robust monitoring and evaluation in effective testing programs/strategies so that assessment of program impact could be done.