Intervention to Enhance Prep Persistence Among African American Men Who Have Sex with Men

Black/African American (B/AA) gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) are at high risk for HIV acquisition in the United States (US). Although B/AA MSM account for less than 1% of the US population, they comprise 26% of new HIV infections. An estimated 41% of B/AA MSM acquire HIV during their lifetimes. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can dramatically reduce HIV incidence for B/AA MSM.

B/AA MSM have poorer outcomes at every stage of the PrEP care continuum. B/AA MSM are less likely to initiate PrEP, and be retained in care than non-Hispanic White MSM. PrEP care outcomes among B/AA MSM are influenced by complex social and structural factors, such as difficulty accessing culturally congruent healthcare services, insufficient health insurance, high out-of-pocket costs, and stigma associated with PrEP, sexual orientation, and HIV. The US Ending the HIV Epidemic (EtHE) initiative and the National HIV/AIDS Strategy call for expanding PrEP to B/AA MSM at community health centers (CHCs), but few interventions exist to overcome barriers and improve PrEP care outcomes in this setting. Moreover, access to PrEP navigation services in real-world settings is uneven. While some clinics offer PrEP navigation services, there is no standard or scientific consensus about how to enhance PrEP adherence and retention in care for B/AA MSM. There is also a lack of data on the degree of intensity and time for navigation services to achieve optimal PrEP outcomes for this population.

The investigator's NIH-funded pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT) (R34MH109371; MPI: Nunn, Chan, Mena) developed and evaluated the Retain and Adhere MSM on PrEP Intervention (RAMP-IT-UP), a strengths-based patient navigation program to enhance PrEP care outcomes among B/AA MSM at a CHC in Jackson, Mississippi. RAMP-IT-UP included one 60-minute personalized patient navigation session, bidirectional communication, scheduled short (10-minute) phone check-ins with navigators, tailored strengths-based strategies to overcome barriers, optional tailored daily medication reminders via text message, and transportation assistance as needed. RAMP-IT-UP also included monthly calls to patients' pharmacies to assess prescription pick-ups, allowing the navigator to connect with patients in a timely manner to understand why a PrEP prescription was not filled. RAMP-IT-UP provides real-time support to overcome social, structural and clinical barriers to PrEP initiation, retention, and adherence and was highly acceptable among B/AA MSM. Compared to control participants, RAMP-It-Up participants were much more likely to initiate PrEP (93% vs. 63%, p=0.01) and to adhere to PrEP based on pharmacy fill data (70% vs. 23%, p<0.01) and 3-month drug levels (83% vs. 50%, p=0.20). Additionally, RAMP-It-Up participants were more likely to be retained in PrEP care at 3-month (70% vs. 43%, p=0.05) and 6-month (37% vs. 27%, p=0.42) PrEP visits.

The objectives of the proposed study are to conduct a fully multi-site RCT to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of RAMP-It-Up for improving PrEP care outcomes among B/AA MSM in real-world CHC settings. The long-term goal of this work is to decrease HIV incidence among B/AA MSM, which aligns with EtHE and National HIV/AIDS Strategy goals. The investigators propose the following specific aims:

Specific Aim #1: Conduct a fully powered RCT to estimate the effectiveness of RAMP-It-Up among B/AA MSM attending CHCs. The investigators will enroll n=300 B/AA MSM who intend to initiate daily oral PrEP at CHCs in three US urban centers (N=100 each site): Jackson, Mississippi; Washington, District of Columbia; and Providence, Rhode Island. Block randomization will be used to randomize participants at each site to either RAMP-IT-UP or an attention-matched information/referral control condition (enhanced treatment-as usual [ETAU]). Quantitative research assessments will be conducted at baseline and 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-months post-baseline. The primary outcome will be PrEP adherence, given that adherence is the definitive marker associated with protection from HIV infection. The investigators will measure adherence with pharmacy refill data and validate pharmacy refill data with PrEP drug levels. Secondary analyses will evaluate PrEP initiation and retention in care at clinical visits. The investigators hypothesize that, compared to ETAU, RAMP-It-Up will significantly improve PrEP initiation, adherence, and retention in care outcomes.