SCOPE: Strategies to Combine PrEP With Prevention Efforts

HIV

HIV, PrEP, Female Sex Workers, Kenya

This pilot, open-label, prospective study will determine the feasibility of integrating pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) into existing HIV prevention programs for female sex workers and if women who are enrolled in those programs will adhere to the daily PrEP regimen of Truvada®. This study will enroll 500 HIV antibody negative female sex workers in Eldoret and Nairobi, Kenya.

Participants will undergo the following procedures: blood draw for HIV (screening, enrollment, month 1, quarterly follow-up visits and final) and creatinine testing (screening, month 3 and final) and urine pregnancy test (at screening, enrollment and final). At screening, participants will have an HBV antigen test. Information on demographics, sexual behaviors, risk perceptions, partners' HIV status, medical history, PrEP and program acceptability, self-reported adherence to PrEP, alcohol and drug use, depression, social support, stigma, self-efficacy, gender-based violence, contraceptive use, adverse events, and symptoms of potential acute HIV infection will be collected during the study. Detailed information on Truvada for PrEP will be given to the participant and the the participant will be counseled on HIV-risk reduction (according to existing program) during the screening visit. Patient-centered and integrated counseling on HIV risk reduction and PrEP adherence will be conducted at enrollment and follow-up visits. Sexually transmitted infections (STI)will be assessed and treated during visits per local clinical procedures. If a pelvic exam is done per routine clinic procedures, a vaginal and/or endocervical swab will be collected and stored for future research related to HIV infection. A cohort of 25 systematically-selected participants at each site will have three rounds of in-depth interviews (IDI) to explore the context surrounding many of the study's endpoints. The first IDI will be conducted at the month 1 visit after PrEP initiation. The second IDI will be conducted at the month 3 visit. The third IDI will be conducted at the final study visit. An IDI will be conducted with all participants at each site who were assigned and willing to use the electronic pill monitoring device (n=25 per site). The purpose of the IDIs is to explore the reasons underlying PrEP use patterns (e.g. the number of times the pill bottle was opened over a specific period of time -- limited, intermittent, or high number of openings). Two rounds of IDIs will be conducted with these participants. The first IDI will be conducted at the month 3 visit and the second at the month 6 visit. Exit interviews will be conducted with up to 30 participants at each site. Participants may be purposefully selected based on their drug level adherence data or electronic pill measurement data (e.g. low, intermittent, or high PrEP users) or based on other specific issues that emerged over the course of the study (e.g., limited partner support). Two brief face-to-face (FTF) structured surveys will be administered to all HIV prevention program staff to assess the variables/domains related to the feasibility measures. The first survey will be administered around the initiation of the study and the second survey towards the end of the study. Two interviews will be conducted using a questionnaire with both open- and closed-ended questions, with all counselors and providers, such as nurses, medical officers, and doctors, to gather more in-depth data on the feasibility measures. The first interview will be conducted approximately one month after the first participant is screened and the second interview toward the end of the study.

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Kenya