Past experiences and future preferences for point-of-care testing: a cross-sectional study

Background

Point‑of‑care testing (POCT) is central to pandemic preparedness, yet public willingness and ability to use tests effectively are under‑studied. The COVID‑19 pandemic offered varied European experiences with self‑ and professionally administered testing. We examined how these experiences influence future preferences for diagnostic testing to inform equitable and effective POCT implementation strategies.

Methods

A cross‑sectional online panel survey was conducted in July 2024 among adults aged 18-64 in France, Greece and Norway (n = 3,300; 1,100 per country). Respondents reported past COVID‑19 testing experiences and preferences for future test mode (self vs professional), cost‑accuracy trade‑offs, and scope of instructions. Descriptive as well as univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses assessed associations between experience and preferences.

Results

Eighty‑one percent had tested more than once for COVID‑19; 64 % self‑tested most recently. Prior professional testing strongly predicted preference for future professional tests (aOR = 3.3, 95 % CI 2.7–4.0). Uncertainty about post‑result actions and low confidence in test accuracy increased preference for professional testing (aOR ≈ 1.3–1.9). Preference for high‑cost/high‑accuracy tests was associated with professional first testing (aOR = 1.9, 1.6–2.3), female gender, older age and multiple vaccination doses, but decreased among those reporting difficulties understanding instructions (aOR = 0.35, 0.2–0.6).

Conclusions

Public preferences for future diagnostics are rooted in past pandemic experiences. Designing acceptable, high‑uptake POCT requires readable instructions, clear post‑result guidance, and hybrid testing options. Integrating public experience data into POCT policies can enhance trust, accessibility and pandemic readiness across Europe.

Key messages

• Public willingness to use future diagnostics depends strongly on prior testing ex-perience, trust and comprehension.

• Tailoring implementation of point‑of‑care testing to national experiences can strengthen public trust and preparedness.