“I feel empowered”: women’s perspectives on and experiences with long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy in the USA and Spain

Abstract

Long-acting injectable antiretroviral therapy has been shown to be non-inferior to daily oral antiretroviral therapy in clinical trials and may soon become part of clinical care. While most trial participants to date have been men, approximately one quarter of ongoing Phase 3 trial participants are women offering an important opportunity to understand how long-acting antiretroviral therapy is perceived and experienced by women. We conducted in-depth interviews with 80 people living with HIV participating in Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials of long-acting antiretroviral therapy in the USA and Spain. Fifteen percent (12/80) of trial participants interviewed were women. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and coded using content analysis, focused on gender-specific themes. Women shared many of the positive perceptions expressed by men but also had unique perspectives, including finding that long-acting antiretroviral therapy addressed the challenge of remembering pills amidst busy day-to-day realities including multiple roles and responsibilities, is less time consuming and creates less stress compared to oral antiretroviral therapy, and is emotionally freeing and empowering. The gendered nature of women’s lives shaped why and how they were satisfied with long-acting antiretroviral therapy. Findings can inform interventions and support systems to facilitate uptake of and adherence to long-acting antiretroviral therapy in women.

Keywords:

• HIV
• antiretroviral therapy
• adherence
• long-acting injectables
• women

Acknowledgements

We thank all who contributed to the success of this study including study participants and their families, clinical investigators and staff in Spain and the USA; and ViiV Spain Medical Scientific Liaisons (Beatriz Pereira, Ramón Almansa-Fernández, David Suarez Fábregas, Marta Rosell-Fontanet and Silvia Esteban Sánchez) , Pilar Moliner Domenech (GSK local Study Manager) and Carlos Martin Español (GSK Clinical Study Manager), and from PPD, Blanca Galobart de los Reyes, Inmaculada Escudero Pablos, Itziar Yagüe Muñoz, Rocío Molina Fernández-Bravo, Evangelina Alonso Alzaga, Ricardo Plaza Cacho and Patricia López Belmonte and JHD staff.

Disclosure statement

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

Funding and competing interests

Research staff members from ViiV Healthcare were involved in the study design, decision to publish and preparation of the manuscript.