| Overall Cronbach alpha | Mouth pad (n = 201) | Gargle (n = 274) | Pharyngeal swab (n = 274) | Rectal swab (n = 268) | |
| Overall feasibility and acceptability scores | 0.77% (95% CI) | 0.86% (95% CI) | 0.85% (95% CI) | 0.88% (95% CI) | |
| Unacceptable | 0 (0 to 1.9) | 0.4 (0.6 to 2.0) | 2.2 (1.0 to 4.7) | 4.0 (2.3 to 7.2) | |
| Not sure | 4.0 (2.0 to 7.7) | 7.7 (5.0 to 11.4) | 21.7 (17.0 to 27.0) | 14.2 (10.5 to 18.9) | |
| Acceptable | 96.0 (92.0 to 97.9) | 92.0 (88.6 to 94.6) | 76.0 (70.7 to 80.8) | 81.7 (76.7 to 85.9) | |
| Individual item scores (Likert scale of 1–5) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | Median (IQR) | |
| 1 | Found collection of the specimen easy | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (3.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (3.0 to 5.0) |
| 2 | Instructions easy | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) |
| 3 | (Uncomfortable)* to self-collect the specimen | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (2.0 to 4.0) | 4.0 (2.0 to 4.0) |
| 4 | (Difficult)* to self-collect the specimen | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.5 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (3.0–4.0) | 4.0 (3.0–5.0) |
| 5 | Instructions (difficult)* to understand | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) |
| 6 | Confidence about specimen collected as instructed | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) |
| 7 | (Not)* use the method again | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to .0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) |
| 8 | Happy to use the method at home | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 5.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) | 4.0 (4.0 to 5.0) |
| 9 | (Prefer)* collection of the specimen by nurse | NA | NA | 3.0 (2.0 to 4.0) | 4.0 (2.0 to 4.0) |
*All the items included in the () were reverse coded so their scores reflect degree of disagreement with those statements, with higher scores indicating high levels of acceptability. NA, not applicable.