Table 2 Representative quotes from caregivers on benefits and limitations of in-home COVID-19 testing

Testing ranges from benign to traumatic

Q1

This is like a walk in the park compared to other things she needs. … It’s such a brief twirl on each side that it’s over before it’s even really begun (P21).

Q2

So I think the first time was very challenging because he does have a very heightened anxiety level with any sort of procedure … Kids that have been poked and everything, you know, they get really apprehensive about anything coming close to their body (P29).

Q3

The first few times I was like, oh, man, I might not be able to do this to [name] because he’s screaming, and I don’t want to traumatize him twice a week. But I think he’s learned too, like I said, it doesn’t go straight up his nose (P10).

Testing ranges from simple to complex

Perceived ease of testing procedure

Q4

You know, the testing itself is not difficult. I think the process is pretty simple. So, you know, just having fewer steps really made it less complicated and easier to administer (P29).

Q5

I guess it’s a lot of things to try and keep next to each other. So it’s like I want to make sure that everything is open and still good to go, and I think the only issue I have is doing the six drops while holding the Q-tip in my hand so it doesn’t touch anything, because I don’t think I was supposed to do it before I, before that swab goes into the nose, because you don’t want them drops sitting there …. I mean, I just wish it was all very simple to where you just swab it and then, I don’t know, throw it in a bag, and if it turns this color, it’s negative, or if it turns that one, it’s positive (P22).

Need for assistance with testing

Q6

We typically try and do it together. So it’s, we have two adults instead of, like the first time we did it, I just did it by myself, and we learned that that probably wasn’t the best thing. I think he does a really good job of making sure that it’s swabbed enough, whereas if I were doing it with her reaction, I don’t think that I would do as good of a job as he would to make sure that I would swab as well as I probably should (P13).

Difficulty of accessing testing

Q7

I think that every insurance should pay for it for in home. If you’re going to make a big deal about this COVID stuff, then you need to give people stuff to be able to deal with it. And it should be automatically put in homes for people (P20).

Q8

I saw [direct antigen rapid tests] in the stores, right? … I was mildly horrified at how expensive they are … I’m a little bit disappointed that they’re like $20 or $25 or whatever for a box of two, right? … I would want people to not be discouraged, right? … I think that would deter people. It would deter me. I wouldn’t do it (P24).

Q9

Yeah, like a much more affordable option if it comes through to just go pick up a kit if your kid is sick or something like that and you want to test them for a certain, like a COVID-19. This, to me, seems like a way better option than going to all the testing facilities that used to be and, or even into the hospital, because, I mean, obviously there’s huge costs sometimes associated with that, and not everybody is going to be able to do that (P13).

Testing contributes to peace of mind

Q10

[The tests] are fast. I like that they’re same day. I know a lot of times, like I know the last time she was really sick, we ended up quarantining for two weeks, and the swab she got took like 72 hours or more to result, and we didn’t know what we were dealing with, and we didn’t know if we should go in or how bad it was going to get, because we didn’t know what she had at that point. So it was really hard to wait those three days to find out that it was negative in the end and it wasn’t what we were dealing with. But it made it a lot more scary to wait that long, thinking that could be what it was. So the immediate reassurance that she’s negative is, means a lot (P14).

I would feel better if everyone were tested

Q11

Can we have like the whole school get tested? That would make me feel way more confident. I would say that’s the big thing. I’m like, well, I can say for my kid, but like that doesn’t help the people around him” (P17).

Vaccination is more protective than testing

Q12

I prefer that everybody would be vaccinated around her. … I can’t say, hey, are you vaccinated? You know, I only want vaccinated people around her. And then as far as the kids, I don’t know how that looks like either. So even with my testing, like I’m happy that I have it in case that I need it when she, well, I probably will be testing her a lot more frequently if she goes to school (P22).

Test results have implications for my child

Q13

I do wonder sometimes if I’m giving myself a false sense of security knowing that in the school district I’m in … if we send them home quarantined because of symptoms, they’re not allowed back in school without the [PCR] testing, right, the other kind of test. We don’t accept this test because it’s not as reliable. So there’s a part to me that’s like am I putting all my eggs in one basket to say this is the end all be all? But at least it is a tool. … I know that there’s [PCR] testing out there that’s more accurate, theoretically, or that’s what I’ve been told, so that just sits in the back of my mind … But it’s better than nothing, so (P18).

Q14

But then it was frustrating, because her school wouldn’t take these test results as an okay for her to go back to school. So we then had to take her to the hospital to test her (P28).