Makerere University-Johns Hopkins University (MU-JHU) Research Collaboration, Kampala, Uganda.
RineCynth Advisory, Kampala, Uganda.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Jun 16;23(1):1163. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-16081-0.
BACKGROUND: Adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) account for 29% of new HIV infections in Uganda despite representing just 10% of the population. Peer support improves AGYW linkage to HIV care and medication adherence. We evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of peer delivered HIV self-tests (HIVST) and oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) to young women in Uganda. METHODS: Between March and September 2021, we conducted a pilot study of 30 randomly selected young women, aged 18-24 years, who had received oral PrEP for at least three months, but had suboptimal adherence as measured by urine tenofovir testing (< 1500 ng/ml). Participants were offered daily oral PrEP and attended clinic visits three and six months after enrollment. Between clinic visits, participants were visited monthly by trained peers who delivered HIVST and PrEP. Feasibility and acceptability of peer-delivered PrEP and HIVST (intervention) were measured by comparing actual versus planned intervention delivery and product use. We conducted two focus groups with young women, and five in-depth interviews with peers and health workers to explore their experiences with intervention delivery. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: At baseline, all 30 enrolled young women (median age 20 years) accepted peer-delivered PrEP and HIVST. Peer delivery visit completion was 97% (29/30) and 93% (28/30) at three and six months, respectively. The proportion of participants with detectable tenofovir in urine was 93% (27/29) and 57% (16/28) at months three and six, respectively. Four broad themes emerged from the qualitative data: (1) Positive experiences of peer delivered HIVST and PrEP; (2) The motivating effect of peer support; (3) Perceptions of female controlled HIVST and PrEP; and (4) Multi-level barriers to HIVST and PrEP use. Overall, peer delivery motivated young women to use HIVST and PrEP and encouraged persistence on PrEP by providing non-judgmental client-friendly services and adherence support. CONCLUSION: Peer delivery of HIVST and oral PrEP was feasible and acceptable to this sample of young women with suboptimal PrEP adherence in Uganda. Future larger controlled studies should evaluate its effectiveness among African AGWY.
背景:在乌干达,青少年女孩和年轻女性(AGYW)占新感染 HIV 人数的 29%,尽管她们仅占人口的 10%。同伴支持可改善 AGYW 与 HIV 护理和药物依从性的联系。我们评估了在乌干达向年轻女性提供同伴提供的 HIV 自我检测(HIVST)和口服暴露前预防(PrEP)的可行性和可接受性。
方法:2021 年 3 月至 9 月期间,我们对 30 名随机选择的年龄在 18-24 岁之间的年轻女性进行了一项试点研究,这些女性已接受口服 PrEP 至少三个月,但尿液替诺福韦检测(<1500ng/ml)显示依从性欠佳。参与者接受每日口服 PrEP,并在入组后三个月和六个月进行诊所就诊。在诊所就诊之间,受过培训的同伴每月对参与者进行家访,提供 HIVST 和 PrEP。通过比较实际干预交付和产品使用情况,评估同伴提供的 PrEP 和 HIVST(干预)的可行性和可接受性。我们对年轻女性进行了两次焦点小组讨论,并对同伴和卫生工作者进行了五次深入访谈,以探讨他们在干预交付方面的经验。使用主题分析对定性数据进行分析。
结果:在基线时,所有 30 名入组的年轻女性(中位年龄 20 岁)均接受了同伴提供的 PrEP 和 HIVST。在三个月和六个月时,同伴交付访问的完成率分别为 97%(29/30)和 93%(28/30)。尿液中检测到替诺福韦的参与者比例分别为 93%(27/29)和 57%(16/28),分别为三个月和六个月。从定性数据中出现了四个主题:(1)同伴提供的 HIVST 和 PrEP 的积极体验;(2)同伴支持的激励作用;(3)对女性控制的 HIVST 和 PrEP 的看法;(4)HIVST 和 PrEP 使用的多层次障碍。总体而言,同伴提供的 HIVST 和口服 PrEP 使年轻女性能够接受 HIVST 和 PrEP,并通过提供非评判性的客户友好服务和依从性支持来鼓励坚持使用 PrEP。
结论:在乌干达,对于依从性欠佳的 PrEP 的年轻女性,同伴提供 HIVST 和口服 PrEP 是可行且可接受的。未来更大规模的对照研究应该评估其在非洲 AGWY 中的有效性。
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