Interest in HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) among adolescents and their caregivers in Malawi

ABSTRACT

Over a third of new HIV infections occur in adolescents aged 10–19 globally. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) could be a powerful tool for prevention. Understanding more about the drivers of PrEP interest could inform implementation strategies among this age group. Moreover, family dynamics may play a uniquely critical role for this younger age group, thus it is important to gauge whether caregivers would support their children’s use of PrEP. We surveyed 2,089 adolescents (aged 10–16) and their caregivers in Malawi during 2017–2018. Data were collected on PrEP interest, factors that may facilitate PrEP use, and preferences for PrEP modality. We used multivariate logistic regression to estimate the association between the above characteristics and PrEP interest. We find that young adolescents are engaging in behaviors that would put them at substantial risk of acquiring HIV, would likely benefit from PrEP, are largely (82%) interested in using such, would prefer to get an injection over taking a daily pill, and are considerably discouraged by the prospect of side effects. Endorsement by caregivers was even greater (87%). Our findings demonstrate initial support for adolescent PrEP, and suggest parents may be a surprising advocate.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• pre-exposure prophylaxis
• adolescent
• Malawi

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data statement

The data are not publicly available. We anticipate making de-identified data available in the future.

Additional information

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number R01HD090988. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.