Comprehensive HIV risk reduction interventions for 2020 and beyond: product choices and effective service-delivery platforms for individual needs and population-level impact

Alcohol Use Disorder and HIV Risk in a National Survey of Men Who Have Sex with Men in Ukraine

BACKGROUND

Problematic alcohol consumption is associated with risk behaviors associated with HIV transmission. Despite the high prevalence of problematic alcohol consumption in Ukraine, however, there are little empirical data examining its association with risk behaviors also associated with HIV transmission in men who have sex with men (MSM), a key population where HIV incidence is increasing, METHOD: Correlates of prevalent HIV infection and their association between drinking severity levels and behaviors also associated with increased likelihood of HIV acquisition were analyzed from a 2017 nationally representative survey (IBBS) of 4938 MSM in Ukraine using bivariate analyses and multivariate regression.

RESULTS

Overall, 42.6% of MSM participants met screening criteria for alcohol use disorder (AUD), with 24.2%, 12.0%, and 6.3% meeting criteria for moderate, high, and severe risk of harm from alcohol consumption, respectively. Multivariate regression revealed that these risk categories were correlated with behaviors associated with increased HIV transmission risk, including reports of (1) > 5 sexual partners; (2) sex with a partner of unknown HIV status; (3) sex work; (4) any drug use; and (5) not testing for HIV (past year). HIV testing was infrequent, with only 44.1% having been tested in the previous year.

CONCLUSION

The high prevalence of problematic alcohol use in Ukrainian MSM and its association with behaviors also associated with HIV transmission supports the importance of routine screening of MSM for AUD. Moreover, among those screening positive for a potential AUD, targeted HIV prevention strategies to scale-up pre-exposure prophylaxis, consistent condom use, and treatment for AUD are needed.

Provider perspectives on service delivery modifications to maintain access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis during the COVID-19 pandemic: qualitative results from a PrEP implementation project in Kenya

INTRODUCTION

HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an essential prevention strategy being scaled up for priority populations in Kenya, including for HIV serodiscordant couples. The COVID-19 pandemic posed challenges to PrEP rollout. We conducted a qualitative study of PrEP providers to understand how clinics adjusted PrEP delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Since 2017, the Partners Scale-Up Project has integrated PrEP into 25 HIV clinics in Central and Western Kenya. We conducted qualitative interviews with 40 purposively sampled clinic personnel. We interviewed personnel once during the first pandemic wave (May-Aug 2020) and again after some decline in COVID-19 rates (Nov-Jan 2021). We analysed data using inductive memo-writing and summarized data by themes along the PrEP delivery cascade, guided by the Framework for Reporting Adaptation and Modifications (FRAME).

RESULTS

We interviewed 27 clinical officers, five nurses, four health records and information officers, and four counsellors from Central (n = 20) and Western (n = 20) Kenya. About half (n = 19) were female, with a median age of 32 (IQR: 29-34) and 2.3 years of experience delivering PrEP (IQR: 2-3). All participants reported clinic changes in PrEP demand creation and service delivery during the pandemic. Modifications occurred during PrEP implementation and sustainment phases, were partly reactive to the pandemic and also facilitated by interim Ministry of Health guidance on PrEP delivery during COVID, and were made by PrEP delivery teams, clients and clinic managers. Commonly reported modifications included dispensing multiple-month PrEP refills, intensifying phone-based client engagement and collaborating with other HIV clinics to ensure that clients with prolonged stays in other regions could continue to access PrEP. Some clinics also adopted practices to streamline visits, such as within clinical-room PrEP dispensing, pre-packing PrEP and task-shifting. Most providers liked these changes and hoped they would continue after the pandemic subsides.

CONCLUSIONS

COVID-19 served as a catalyst for PrEP delivery innovations in Kenya. HIV clinics successfully and rapidly adapted their PrEP demand creation, refill and retention strategies to promote PrEP uptake and effective use. These modified implementation strategies highlight opportunities to streamline the delivery of PrEP, as well as other HIV and chronic care services, and strengthen engagement with populations post-pandemic.

A novel "HIV salience and Perception" scale is associated with PrEP dispensing and adherence among adolescent girls and young women in Kampala, Uganda

Low perceived HIV risk is a barrier to effective pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use among African adolescent girls and young women (AGYW). Single-item risk perception measures are stigmatizing and alienating to AGYW and may not predict PrEP use. There is a need for a tool capturing domains of perceived HIV risk and salience that align with PrEP use among AGYW. This HIV PrEP study was conducted in Kampala, Uganda. We developed and piloted the 9-item "HIV Salience and Perception" (HPS) scale (range: 9-36); higher scores indicate beliefs of higher vulnerability to HIV. We administered the scale to Ugandan AGYW participating in an ongoing cohort study at enrollment, one, three and six months. PrEP dispensing was measured quarterly and adherence was measured daily via Wisepill (high adherence: ≥80% of expected pill bottle openings). We assessed scale performance and used generalized estimating equations to determine associations between scale score and PrEP use. Among 499 AGYW, 54.1% of our sample was ≥ 20 years (range:16-25). The median HPS score was 18 (range:8-33; α = 0.77). Higher score was associated with PrEP dispensing (aRR = 1.07 per point increase; 95% CI = 1.01-1.13; p-value = 0.02) in the overall cohort and among only those ≥ 20 years (aRR = 1.10; 95% CI = 1.03-1.19; p-value = 0.01). We did not observe an association between scale score and PrEP adherence. AGYW scoring higher on a novel HPS scale were more likely to initiate and obtain PrEP refills through 6 months. This scale may capture drivers of PrEP dispensing and could inform PrEP delivery and counseling for AGYW.

Self-Reported Combination HIV Prevention Strategies Enacted by a Prospective Cohort of Midlife and Older Men Who Have Sex with Men in the United States: A Latent Class Analysis

Insights into combination HIV prevention (CHP) strategies to reduce HIV incidence among midlife and older adult men who have sex with men (MSM) are limited. The current study is a secondary data analysis evaluating CHP in a sample of sexually active midlife and older adult MSM (N = 566) from the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study Healthy Aging Substudy. Stratified by HIV serostatus, we used latent class analyses to identify CHP classes based on self-reported sociobehavioral and biobehavioral prevention strategies that participants and their male partners used in the prior 6 months. We identified three CHP classes among men living without HIV (MLWOH), including the following: high CHP overall (43.0%), high anal sex abstention (15.0%), and low prevention overall (42.0%). Among men living with HIV (MLWH), we identified four CHP classes, including the following: high CHP overall (20.9%), high CHP/low condom use (27.1%), high condom reliance (22.3%), and low prevention overall (29.7%). There were small differences by sociodemographic characteristics and sexual behavior practices between the classes; however, poppers use was often linked to being in high CHP groups. Our findings support that CHP is not one-size-fits-all for midlife and older adult MSM. There remains a need to scale up clinical providers' sexual health communication practices to assist midlife and older MSM incorporate prevention strategies, particularly biobehavioral prevention strategies that align with their patients' lived experiences.

Strengthening systems of care for people with or at risk for HIV, HCV and opioid use disorder: a call for enhanced data collection

BACKGROUND

The syndemic between opioid use disorder (OUD), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) results in excessive burdens on the healthcare system. Integrating these siloed systems of care is critical to address all three conditions adequately. In this implementation project, we assessed the data capacity of the health system to measure a cascade of care (COC) across HIV, HCV and OUD services in five states to help guide public health planning.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Data for this study were gathered from publicly available datasets and reports from government (SAMSHA, CMS, HRSA and CDC) sites. We created, where possible, COCs for HIV, HCV, and OUD spanning population estimate, diagnosis, treatment initiation, treatment retention, and patient outcomes for each of five states in the study.

RESULTS

The process of data collection showed that baseline COCs examining the intersections of OUD, HIV, and HCV cannot be produced and that there are missing data in all states examined. Collection of specific data points is not consistent across all states. States are better at reporting HIV cascades due to federal requirements. Only gross estimates could be made for OUD cascades in all states because data are separated by payer source, leaving no central point of data collection from all sources. Data for HCV were not publicly available.

CONCLUSION

It is difficult to assess the strategies needed or the progress made towards increasing treatment access and decreasing the burden of disease without the ability to construct an accurate baseline. Using integrated COCs with relevant benchmarks can not only guide public health planning, but also provide meaningful targets for intervention.KEY MESSAGESWhile HIV COCs are available for most states at least annually, they are not disaggregated for populations with co-occurring OUD or HCV.Data to calculate HCV COC are not available and data to calculate OUD COC are partially available, but only for specific payers.States do not have systems in place to measure the scope of the syndemic or to identify targets for quality improvement activities.

The Effect of PrEP Use Disclosure on Adherence in a Cohort of Adolescent Girls and Young Women in South Africa

Effective strategies to support PrEP adherence among adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) are needed. We examined PrEP use disclosure and its effect on adherence among 200 AGYW ages 16-25 initiating PrEP in South Africa to help inform these  strategies. We estimated the relative prevalence of high adherence (intracellular tenofovir-diphosphate concentration ≥ 700 fmol/punch) 3- and 6-months after PrEP initiation among those who disclosed vs. did not disclose their PrEP use, both overall and by age. Most AGYW disclosed to a parent (58%), partner (58%), or friend (81%) by month 6. We did not observe a strong effect of disclosure on adherence overall; however, among younger AGYW (≤ 18 years), those who disclosed to a parent were 6.8 times as likely to have high adherence at month 6 than those who did not (95% CI 1.02, 45.56). More work is needed to understand parents' roles as allies and identify ways peers and partners can motivate PrEP use for AGYW.

Pregnant and breastfeeding women's prospective acceptability of two biomedical HIV prevention approaches in Sub Saharan Africa: A multisite qualitative analysis using the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability

HIV infection during pregnancy and breastfeeding has implications for maternal health. Between May- November 2018, we explored prospective acceptability of two novel HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) products, oral pills and vaginal rings, through focus group discussions with 65 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe. Qualitative analysis was completed, guided by the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (TFA). First, a deductive thematic analysis was applied to relevant coded data, into the seven TFA constructs (Affective Attitude; Burden; Ethicality, Intervention Coherence; Opportunity Costs; Perceived Effectiveness; Self-efficacy). Next, an iterative analysis was completed to generate themes within each of the TFA constructs. Women’s positive attitudes towards daily oral PrEP highlighted the familiarity of taking pills, understanding the purpose of taking pills, and the perception that it is an effective method to protect mothers and babies from HIV during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Women emphasized the ease of using the ring given its monthly duration that lowers burden on the user, its discreetness and invisibility once in place. The TFA analysis highlighted how acceptability of both methods could be enhanced by focusing on perceptions of the end users (i.e. the women) and not just the products themselves. This approach provided insights into how to refine the intervention materials and plans for implementation.

HIV/STI Prevention Interventions for Women Who Have Experienced Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Look at Whether the Interventions Were Designed for Disseminations

This systematic review of HIV/STI prevention interventions for women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV) describes the interventions characteristics, impact on HIV-related outcomes, and whether the studies were designed for dissemination. Six intervention studies met the inclusion criteria. Two studies were randomized controlled trials. The interventions consisted of between one and eight individual and/or group sessions. The interventions durations ranged from 10 minutes to 18 hours. The interventions impacts were assessed across 12 HIV-related outcomes. Two randomized control trials showed significantly fewer unprotected sexual episodes or consistent safer sex among abused women in the treatment conditions compared to the control groups. Two studies chose a delivery site for scalability purposes and three interventions were manualized. Three studies examined intervention acceptability, feasibility or fidelity. HIV/STI prevention interventions for women who have experienced IPV may be improved with randomized control designs and greater efforts to design the interventions for dissemination.

Adolescent girls and young women's PrEP-user journey during an implementation science study in South Africa and Kenya

Successful scale-up of PrEP for HIV prevention in African adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) requires integration of PrEP into young women's everyday lives. We conducted interviews and focus group discussions with 137 AGYW PrEP users aged 16-25 from South Africa and Kenya. Individual and relational enablers and disablers were explored at key moments during their PrEP-user journey from awareness, initiation and early use through persistence, including PrEP pauses, restarts, and discontinuation. PrEP uptake was facilitated when offered as part of an integrated sexual reproductive health service, but hampered by low awareness, stigma and misconceptions about PrEP in the community. Daily pill-taking was challenging for AGYW due to individual, relational and structural factors and PrEP interruptions (intended or unintended) were described as part of AGYW's PrEP-user journey. Disclosure, social support, adolescent-friendly health counseling, and convenient access to PrEP were reported as key enablers for PrEP persistence.

Awareness, Utilization, and Preferences for Traditional and Contemporary HIV Prevention Strategies Among Facebook and Instagram-Using MSM in the United States

HIV prevention research among men who have sex with men (MSM) has traditionally focused on individual risk reduction strategies. Our study evaluated awareness, utilization, and preferences for 10 complementary HIV prevention strategies among 1,286 MSM recruited via Facebook and Instagram from June-August 2018. Ages ranged from 18-85 years, and the majority were non-Hispanic white (n = 1,019, 79.24%), college-educated (n = 819, 63.69%), gay-identifying (n = 1,074, 83.51%), and partnered (n = 808, 62.83%). Post-exposure prophylaxis was the least familiar option, and engaging in sexual activities other than anal sex was the most utilized option. Progressively older and bisexual-identifying MSM were less likely, but those with higher educational levels and easy access to local HIV resources were more likely to be aware of and to be utilizing a greater number of strategies. Additionally, Hispanic MSM were less likely to be aware of, and those in a “closed” relationship were less likely to be utilizing a greater number of strategies. In a subset of 775 multiple strategy users, pre-exposure prophylaxis, regularly testing for HIV, and limiting the number of sex partners emerged as the most preferred options. Combination intervention packages for MSM should be tailored to personal circumstances, including sexual orientation, relationship characteristics and access to local HIV resources.

Intervening for HIV prevention and mental health: a review of global literature

INTRODUCTION

Numerous effective HIV prevention options exist, including behaviour change interventions, condom promotion and biomedical interventions, like voluntary medical male circumcision and pre-exposure prophylaxis. However, populations at risk of HIV also face overlapping vulnerabilities to common mental disorders and severe mental illness. Mental health status can affect engagement in HIV risk behaviours and HIV prevention programmes. We conducted a narrative review of the literature on HIV prevention among key populations and other groups vulnerable to HIV infection to understand the relationship between mental health conditions and HIV prevention outcomes and summarize existing evidence on integrated approaches to HIV prevention and mental healthcare.

METHODS

We searched five databases for studies published from January 2015 to August 2020, focused on HIV prevention and mental health conditions among key populations and individuals with serious mental illness. Studies were included if they evaluated an HIV prevention intervention or assessed correlates of HIV risk reduction and included assessment of mental health conditions or a mental health intervention.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

We identified 50 studies meeting our inclusion criteria, of which 26 were randomized controlled trials or other experimental designs of an HIV prevention intervention with or without a mental health component. Behaviour change interventions were the most common HIV prevention approach. A majority of studies recruited men who have sex with men and adolescents. Two studies provided distinct approaches to integrated HIV prevention and mental health service delivery. Overall, a majority of included studies showed that symptoms of mental disorder or distress are associated with HIV prevention outcomes (e.g. increased risky sexual behaviour, poor engagement in HIV prevention behaviours). In addition, several studies conducted among groups at high risk of poor mental health found that integrating a mental health component into a behaviour change intervention or linking mental health services to combination prevention activities significantly reduced risk behaviour and mental distress and improved access to mental healthcare.

CONCLUSIONS

Evidence suggests that mental health conditions are associated with poorer HIV prevention outcomes, and tailored integrated approaches are urgently needed to address overlapping vulnerabilities among key populations and other individuals at risk.

Adaptation and validation of simple tools to screen and monitor for oral PrEP adherence

INTRODUCTION

Oral, vaginal and other pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) products for HIV prevention are in various stages of development. Low adherence poses a serious challenge to successful evaluation in trials. In a previous study, we developed tools to screen for general adherence and specifically monitor intravaginal ring adherence within the context of HIV prevention clinical trials. This study aimed to further validate the screening tool and to adapt and provide initial psychometric validation for an oral pill monitoring tool.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We administered a cross-sectional survey between June and October 2018 at a trial site located near Cape Town, South Africa, and another in Thika, Kenya, with 193 women who had experience using daily oral pills. We fit confirmatory factor analysis models on the screening tool items to assess our previously-hypothesized subscale structure. We conducted an exploratory factor analysis of oral PrEP monitoring items to determine the underlying subscale structure. We then assessed the construct validity of each tool by comparing subscales against each other within the current sample and against our original sample, from a study conducted in four sites in South Africa, including Cape Town.

RESULTS

The screening tool structure showed moderate evidence of construct validity. As a whole, the tool performed in a similar way to the original sample. The monitoring tool items, which were revised to assess perceptions about and experiences using daily oral PrEP, factored into five subscales that showed moderate to good reliability. Four of the five subscales had a similar structure overall to the vaginal ring monitoring tool from which they were adapted.

CONCLUSIONS

Accurate measurement of HIV-prevention product adherence is of critical importance to the assessment of product efficacy and safety in clinical trials, and the support of safe and effective product use in non-trial settings. In this study, we provide further validation for these measures, demonstrating the screening tool's utility in additional populations and adapting the monitoring tool's utility for different HIV-prevention products.

Interventions to improve daily medication use among adolescents and young adults: what can we learn for youth pre-exposure prophylaxis services?

OBJECTIVE

Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an important HIV prevention method and studies have shown that young people ages 15-24 have difficulty adhering to daily PrEP. The field of PrEP delivery for young people is relatively nascent and lessons about potential PrEP adherence interventions could be learned from the larger evidence base of adherence interventions for other daily medications among youth.

DESIGN

Systematic review of adherence support interventions for adolescents.

METHODS

We searched PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE, and PsycINFO through January 2020 for oral contraceptive pill (OCP), antiretroviral therapy (ART), asthma, and diabetes medication adherence interventions. We reviewed primary articles about OCP adherence interventions and reviewed systematic reviews for ART, asthma, and diabetes medication adherence interventions. Studies were retained if they included participants' ages 10-24 years; measured OCP, ART, asthma, or diabetes medication adherence; and were systematic reviews, randomized trials, or quasi-experimental studies.

RESULTS

Fifteen OCP articles and 26 ART, diabetes, and asthma systematic reviews were included. Interventions that improved medication adherence for OCPs, ART, asthma, and diabetes treatment included reminder text messages, computer-based and phone-based support, and enhanced counseling. Multi-month prescriptions and same-day pill starts also were found to improve OCP adherence and continuation. Adolescent-friendly clinics and peer-based counseling significantly improved ART adherence, and telemedicine interventions improved diabetes medication adherence.

CONCLUSION

Interventions that improve medication adherence among youth include enhanced counseling, extended pill supply, adolescent-friendly services, and text message reminders. PrEP programs could incorporate and evaluate such interventions for their impact on PrEP adherence and continuation among at-risk adolescents.

The influence of HIV-related stigma on PrEP disclosure and adherence among adolescent girls and young women in HPTN 082: a qualitative study

Introduction

Stigma and disclosure concerns have been key barriers to oral pre‐exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) adherence for African adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in efficacy trials. We aimed to understand the impact of these factors among African AGYW in an open‐label PrEP study.

Methods

HPTN 082 was an open‐label PrEP study among AGYW (ages 16 to 24) in Harare, Zimbabwe, and Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa from 2016 to 2018. Women starting PrEP were randomized to standard adherence support (counselling, two‐way SMS, monthly adherence clubs) or standard support plus drug‐level feedback. Serial in‐depth interviews were conducted among 67 AGYW after 13‐week and 26‐week study visits to explore experiences of stigma, disclosure and PrEP adherence. We analysed data by coding transcripts and memo‐writing and diagramming to summarize themes.

Results

AGYW described stigma related to sexual activity (e.g. “people say I'm a prostitute”) and being perceived to be living with HIV because of taking antiretrovirals (e.g. “my husband's friends say I'm HIV infected”). Participants who anticipated stigma were reluctant to disclose PrEP use and reported adherence challenges. Disclosure also resulted in stigmatizing experiences. Across all sites, negative descriptions of stigma and disclosure challenges were more common in the first interview. In the second interview, participants often described disclosure as an “empowering” way to combat community‐level PrEP stigma; many said that they proactively discussed PrEP in their communities (e.g. became a “community PrEP ambassador”), which improved their ability to take PrEP and encourage others to use PrEP. These empowering disclosure experiences were facilitated by ongoing HPTN 082 study activities (e.g. counselling sessions, adherence clubs) in which they could discuss PrEP‐related stigma, disclosure and PrEP adherence issues.

Conclusions

Stigma and disclosure challenges were initial concerns for African AGYW newly initiating PrEP but many were empowered to disclose PrEP use over their first six months of PrEP use, which helped them cope with stigma and feel more able to take PrEP regularly. PrEP programmes can foster disclosure through community and clinic‐based discussion, adherence clubs and activities normalizing sexual behaviour and PrEP use, which can reduce stigma and improve PrEP adherence and thus effectiveness.