Physicians are Key Influencers of PrEP Choice | AIDS 2024
Researchers surveyed 201 men who have sex with men and transgender men from 17 clinics who began long-acting cabotegravir to prevent infection with HIV.
Providers are one of the key influencers in helping people choose which pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to use to prevent infection with HIV.
As part of the phase 4 PILLAR study, patients who began Apretude were surveyed about the factors that led to the decision to start therapy. Developed by ViiV Healthcare, Apretude is a long-acting cabotegravir indicated to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 in adults and adolescents. It is given by injection by a healthcare professional every two months, after two initial injections in the first month.
Dima Dandachi, M.D.
Researchers were led by Dima Dandachi, M.D., M.Ph., assistant professor at the University of Missouri- Columbia in the department of Medicine and the medical director of the HIV treatment and prevention program at the University of Missouri Health Care.
From May 2022 to August 2023, researchers surveyed 201 men who have sex with men and transgender men from 17 clinics. Additionally, researchers conducted interviews with 52 participants.
Most of the participants (71%) had taken oral PrEP in the last six months. Most (63%) had heard of a long-acting cabotegravir before the study from providers (48%), friends (12%) and commercials (13%). Interviewed participants discussed providers as the key influencer in deciding to use a long-acting cabotegravir (85%), followed by themselves (31%), partners (29%) and commercials (25%).
Participants outlined convenience, not having to remember to take PrEP, less stress about adherence, and not worrying about HIV as key reasons for choosing/switching to a long-acting cabotegravir. Most participants (74%) reported having no concerns about long-acting cabotegravir concerns; 17% with concerns cited side effects and injection pain/soreness.
This study was sponsored by Viiv Healthcare.
Today, the clade 2b outbreak has reached alarming proportions, with over 94,000 confirmed cases reported across 117 countries, including significant numbers in the U.S. and Brazil, and up to 103 deaths. The virus has been found to affect younger men who have sex with men, who are linked to high rates of HIV co-infection.
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