Beyond HIV prevention: a qualitative study of patient-reported outcomes of PrEP among MSM patients in two public STD clinics in Baltimore

ABSTRACT

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) could have a substantial impact on the HIV epidemic within the US. However, the implementation of PrEP interventions outside of clinical trials has been slow and faces considerable barriers. The aim of the current study was to qualitatively explore PrEP-related patient-reported outcomes (PRO) among MSM patients who enrolled in a PrEP program at two public STD clinics in Baltimore. We conducted in-depth interviews with 18 PrEP patients who self-identified as MSM at two Baltimore City Health Department STD clinics between March and November, 2017. A codebook was developed using an iterative process. During analysis, the study team identified various biomedical and psychosocial PrEP-related PRO among MSM PrEP patients. In addition to HIV prevention, PrEP-related PRO included greater peace of mind, better continuity in care and awareness about health and well-being, relationship solidarity with serodiscordant partners, and access to social services. These findings on PrEP-related PRO can potentially contribute to improving patient-provider communication, leading to increased engagement in care and uptake of PrEP by MSM.

KEYWORDS:

• PrEP
• patient-reported outcomes
• MSM
• qualitative
• HIV

Disclosure statement

No competing financial interests exist.

ORCID

Cui Yang http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0144-2575

Carl Latkin http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7931-2116

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by an Administrative Supplement from the Johns Hopkins University Center for AIDS Research, an NIH funded program [P30AI094189], which is supported by the following NIH Co-Funding and Participating Institutes and Centers: NIAID, NCI, NICHD, NHLBI, NIDA, NIMH,NIA, FIC, NIGMS, NIDDK, and OAR, and funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [R34MH116725]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH.