Pharmacy Delivery to Expand the Reach of PrEP in Kenya: Pilot Study

Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new HIV prevention method that works when taken as recommended. To take full advantage of public health benefit of PrEP for HIV prevention, there is need to prioritize access, minimize costs of delivery, and reach out to at-risk populations. In Africa, PrEP is being added to a public health infrastructure which is sometimes burdened by overcrowding and drug stock outs; the ability of health systems to maximize PrEP access necessitates finding novel delivery strategies. Additionally, there exist major barriers to PrEP delivery, which includes stigma, long waiting times, costs of staffing and healthcare providers' unfamiliarity with delivering prevention interventions. In Kenya, and many other resource-limited countries, retail pharmacies (i.e., chemists) fill an important gap in the health care system providing first stop access to treatment, monitoring and preventive care of urgent and prolonged conditions. Potential PrEP users may desire pharmacy-delivered PrEP over facility-delivered PrEP for reasons including increased convenience, increased privacy and greater engagement compared to health facilities that focus on treating ill patients. Retail pharmacies can offer free, subsidized or affordable healthcare services. The core components of PrEP - including HIV testing, adherence and risk reduction counselling, assessment of side effects and provision of refills - are within the scope of practice for pharmaceutical technologists and pharmacists in Kenya. Prior formative qualitative research and a stakeholder meeting led to development of a care pathway for pharmacy-based PrEP delivery (including initiation and refills), endorsed for piloting in a consultation meeting that included a wide spectrum of regulatory, professional, government, and community stakeholders in Kenya. We will conduct 3 separate, consecutive studies.

During Study 1a (13 months), we will pilot this care pathway in 2 retail pharmacies evenly split between 2 different geographies in Kenya: Kisumu and Thika. Activities will include data collection aimed at potential weak points of pharmacy-based PrEP delivery, in domains relating to acceptability, fidelity, and costs.

During Study 1b (12 months, happening concurrently with Study 1a), we will additionally offer pharmacy-based PrEP refills only to clients who initiated PrEP at select public health clinics, to assess how many clients opt to refill PrEP at a study pharmacy (for a fee) as opposed to at the clinic (for free).

During Study 2 (6 months, happening right after Study 1a), we will modify the delivery model (e.g., add new implementation strategies) to address the weak points identified during Study 1a, and we will expand PrEP delivery to six additional retail pharmacies (for a total of 12 pharmacies), evenly split between Kisumu and Thika.