Developing a Women-Focused PrEP Intervention for HIV Prevention

The HIV epidemic among women in the US is a major public health issue and many women at high risk for acquiring HIV infection are not aware of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), an efficacious, self-administered, woman-controlled, HIV prevention product. In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued guidelines for evaluating and prescribing PrEP for women at high risk for acquiring HIV. Yet, there are currently no interventions in the US to promote PrEP uptake among high risk women.

The objective of this study is to evaluate an intervention to promote PrEP uptake in two large metropolitan areas with local HIV rates that greatly exceed the national average but with different PrEP public policy and access landscapes. The investigators hypothesize that a theory-based, contextually relevant behavioral intervention combined with linkage to health care and social services, with text message support for adherence, would be feasible and acceptable and would improve PrEP uptake among high risk women.

Eligible women will be recruited primarily via face-to-face recruitment and respondent driven sampling. For respondent driven sampling, enrolled participants will be given three (3) coupons to be given to women in her social network who she thinks would be interested in joining the study. If the person referred attends a baseline visit, the referring participant will receive $10. Assessment of eligibility will be conducted by telephone or in-person. Participant initials and phone number will be recorded on the form. Eligible participants will be scheduled for a study visit at a day and time convenient for her. Study visits will be held at UPenn School of Nursing (Philadelphia) or the New York Blood Center Project Achieve office (NYC) or at a mutually agreeable location in the community that provides a private place for study procedures.

For the randomized trial, the investigators will conduct a study among 80 women to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Each of the two study sites will enroll forty (40) women; thirty (30) participants will receive the theory-based, contextually tailored education and activities intervention and ten (10) participants will be randomized to the information only control group.

Prior to administering any study procedures women participants will participate in an informed consent process. During the informed consent process research staff will explained some participants will receive the education and activities intervention and some participants will receive information control group. After their questions are answered and participant signs the consent form, all participants will complete a computer-based baseline assessment and receive a rapid HIV test. All participants (control and intervention) will sign a release of information form authorizing the study team to contact the PrEP health care site for the minimal information needed to assess if PrEP was prescribed.