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Who we are

GetaKit is a study from the University of Ottawa, undertaken in partnership with local public health units in Ontario, which offers an online assessment system for access to FREE lab-based testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV.

All testing that is offered through GetaKit is licensed in Ontario and matches what you would obtain from a clinic. Available services can include lab-based testing for HIV, syphilis, hepatitis C, gonorrhea, and chlamydia. HIV self-tests may also be available.

For most orders, your “kit” will be digitally delivered by fax or PDF to the lab of your choice. Orders with swabs will be mailed to your address. Results for lab tests are usually available in 3-7 days. You will get an email or text message from us when your results are received. You can then log in to your account to view these results online.

What personal data we collect and why we collect it

If you choose to participate in this study, you will be asked to provide your full name, an email, and a phone number to ensure that the study team can contact you to follow-up on your test results or if there is an issue with your HIV self-test kit.

Upon registration and completion of an intake assessment, the study team will send out STI and/or HIV testing materials that are relevant to you. This might include an HIV self-test and any other necessary self-collection tools for STI testing (for select locations). If you are eligible, you can order these test items to your home or any other address of your choice. To complete some of this testing, you will need to present to a local laboratory to deposit specimens (swabs or urine) and have blood drawn. If you are receiving requisitions only, these will either be made available as a PDF for you to use or they will be securely digitally transferred to the lab of your choosing.

After you have ordered testing, you will receive automated email reminders to do your testing. At 8 weeks, these reminders will stop and your requisitions will expire. You may re-order testing by completing the risk assessment again at your convenience.

Test results take approximately 2 to 6 days to process, but can take up to 2 weeks. Provided you keep your contact information up to date, if you have not been contacted in that time, your results are negative.

If any of your lab-based STI or HIV tests are positive, you will be contacted by your local public health unit for follow up. This is a requirement by law. All test results for STIs and HIV blood tests (but not for HIV self-tests), including your registration and self-assessment data, will be sent to your local public health unit or sexual health clinic for follow-up. This follow-up occurs by law and cannot be stopped once you submit specimens. If you do not wish this to occur, please do not participate. Instead, visit your local STI/HIV clinic to discuss testing options.

You are consenting to your local public health unit sharing information with the GetaKit study team about the outcome of your follow-up.  In the case of a positive syphilis test, the local public health unit would also share information related to your stage of infection with the GetaKit study team.

If you are eligible for an HIV self-test, you can use it whenever you like, wherever you feel most comfortable. Once you have used the test, you are invited to report your result on a secure website. Per current guidelines, you will also be reminded to retest if indicated.

The self-assessment at the beginning of the study will ask you questions about who you are and about your testing history for HIV and other sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections. This information will help us do two things: (1) understand who is using online, mail-out testing in Ontario, and (2) request the best and most appropriate STI and HIV testing for you.

Confidentiality and Anonymity

All registration and survey data, included self-reported HIV results, will be encrypted and hosted on a secure Montreal-based server (through Google SQL cloud). Information on the security of the Google system can be found here. This information is only accessible by Authorized Users at participating GetaKit sites (that is, your local public health unit) and the OHTN and the Principal Investigator. Information collected will be accessed for three reasons:

  1. To support a referral for HIV care based on a preliminary positive result or if you want to access HIV PrEP, as well as in the event of a positive STI result. This will be to ensure you receive appropriate supports, medical treatment, and HIV prevention services. You will be reminded at the time of referral that your information is being shared with the physician or nurse practitioner to whom we refer you.
  2. For internal evaluation reports for monitoring and improvement of the GetaKit project, either at individual sites or the whole project. To produce these reports GetaKit may link to other databases. These evaluations will only include summary data, that is no individual identifiable data.
  3. To publish findings regarding the acceptability and feasibility of the GetaKit project in a peer reviewed journal. In this case, as well, data will only be included as summaries and no individual identifiable data will be published.

All downloaded data are de-identified (your name, address, and contact details, if applicable, will not be included). All data will be represented as aggregate, or summary, and no individual line data will be included in any internal reports or publications.

To further enhance security of your information, we will archive all orders from active use after 3 to 4 months. This information remains online, but is hidden from users.

The research information collected about you today will be kept in a locked file room at the University of Ottawa for 10 years. Any digital files will be stored as password protected files on Dr. O’Byrne’s password protected University of Ottawa computer. To ensure anonymity, all data will be identified by a code.  In the event of Dr. O’Byrne leaving or being unable to work at the University of Ottawa, research information will either be kept by Dr. O’Byrne with similar security measures at a new location or by the research team at the same location with the same identified security measures.

Limitations to Confidentiality

In Ontario, the Health Protection and Promotion Act requires that testing providers report positive sexually transmitted and bloodborne infections (STBBIs) results to local public health units. As such, if one of your test results is positive, we would be required to notify the local public health unit, who will engage in follow-up to ensure that you are linked to care and that your previous partners obtain testing as well. This process is fully confidential and is mandatory. If you have concerns about such reporting, please do not proceed with testing, and instead seek care in person to review privacy and mandatory legal reporting requirements for STBBIs in Ontario. As well, in Ontario, healthcare professionals who order tests must ensure these are processed. You will receive phone calls or emails if you do not complete the testing you requested.

Where Do My Specimens and Health Information Go

Personal Health Information  

All information, including questionnaires and results are stored on a PHIPA compliant GoogleCloud server in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.   

All requests for HIV/STI testing are reviewed by a licensed healthcare provider (nurse, nurse practitioner) who works with the University of Ottawa.  

Any question submitted directly to GetaKit (via email or website) is reviewed by a member of the GetaKit team with the University of Ottawa. These team members only have access to information that is relevant to their roles and responsibilities. When needed, these questions are forwarded to a GetaKit healthcare provider for additional review or follow-up.  

If you accept a referral to an external service through GetaKit, your information will be shared with the third party clinic or service that you selected and consented to.  

Specimen Processing 

Lab-based tests are completed at a specimen collection centre (lab) of your choice. At the lab, they will take urine and/or blood sample(s) and/or process your at-home collected swabs. These specimens are then forwarded for processing at one or more labs in Ontario:  


For more information on lab processing, please see the following links:  


Results Reporting 

All test results are reported to GetaKit and your public health unit clinic and are entered into the GetaKit system by a licensed healthcare provider or delegate. In the event of an STI or HIV (but not HIV self-test) result that requires action (e.g., positive or inconclusive result), your public health unit will access your registration and risk assessment information to ensure follow-up and management. Your public health unit may also access other personal health information (e.g., previous test results) from other health record systems to ensure you receive proper care. You public health unit may also access your file for quality assurance purposes.

Reporting of positive results to your local public health unit, including some inconclusive results, is mandated by law under the Ontario Health Protection and Promotion Act and occurs regardless of which clinic you attend in Ontario. Your local public health unit will also share information with the GetaKit team about the outcome of your follow-up (e.g., managed, lost to follow-up). In the case of a positive syphilis test, the local public health unit will share information related to your stage of infection with the GetaKit team. 

There are options for anonymous HIV testing at select clinical sites in Ontario. There are no options for anonymous STI testing in Ontario. 

If you want to know which public health unit will be responsible for your results and care, you can search a list on the Government of Ontario’s website.

Withdrawal and Conservation of Information

You can withdraw at any point if you no longer want to participate in the GetaKit study. Your information will not be used in any GetaKit reports after the date of your withdrawal; however, because summary data are used in reporting, we cannot retroactively withdraw your data from any reports that were generated before that date.

When you withdraw, if your account contains health information, such as records of testing and test results, it will not be deleted for ten years and is subject to the same retention requirements as any other health record.  Where you withdraw and there is no activity (that is, no orders or requests for testing) associated with your account, the account will be purged after three months of inactivity.  Upon your withdrawal, the account will be set to ‘inactive’ so that your records can still be accessed as per legislation and internal policies regarding health records but your information will not be included in any reports or publications after the date of your withdrawal.  Health records created will be kept in accordance with the policies of the applicable health information custodians (that is, public health, labs, doctor’s offices) and will not be deleted if you withdraw from the study.

When you withdraw and there is no activity (that is, no orders or requests for testing) associated with your account, the account will be purged of any identifying information.  Upon your withdrawal, the account will be set to ‘inactive’ so that your records can still be accessed as per legislation and internal policies regarding health records, but your information will not be included in any reports or publications after the date of your withdrawal. You will also not have access to log-in to the system.

Industry regulatory disclosure requirements

We recognize and honour Global Privacy Control signals where applicable.

We do not sell personal information or share personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising.