PrEP My Way: a Hybrid Type 1 Clinical Effectiveness-implementation Trial to Promote PrEP Persistence Among Young Kenyan Women

PrEP My Way is a novel PrEP delivery system consisting of clinic-based PrEP initiation, followed by peer-delivered kits for HIV self-testing, PrEP refills, vaginal swabs for gonorrhea and chlamydia self-sampling, pregnancy tests, and contraception refills, if desired. Based on Social Cognitive Theory, the overall hypothesis is that PrEP My Way will overcome critical stigma and structural barriers that currently limit PrEP use and thus empower young women to promote their sexual health.

Preliminary testing of PrEP My Way in Kisumu, Kenya found it to be highly feasible and acceptable, but PrEP use as an oral medication was lower than expected. Now that newer PrEP formulations are becoming available, the team is adding choice of PrEP formulation (i.e., oral tenofovir/emtricitabine, injectable cabotegravir-long acting \[CAB-LA\], or dapivirine ring) as well as choice of adherence support from peers (e.g., SMS \[short message service\], routine check-ins and/or WhatsApp groups) to the intervention. The study team will then test the effectiveness of the augmented PrEP My Way intervention (with and without testing for gonorrhea and chlamydia due to cost concerns) on PrEP persistence in women with ongoing HIV prevention needs (i.e., self-reported desire for PrEP, self-reported HIV risk, condomless sex, and/or multiple sexual partners). The team will also track implementation, service, and client metrics per Proctor's framework and determine cost-effectiveness of the intervention

1. Augment PrEP My Way to include choice of PrEP formulation (CAB-LA, dapivirine ring, or oral FTC/ TDF) and adherence support. With a Kenyan design firm, the study team will conduct 28 individual interviews and 2 workshops with young women, young men (as sexual partners), caregivers, nurses, and community health workers to adapt the kit, product guides, and delivery systems. The study team will use a nurse-delivered model for injections per Kenya regulations and a peer-delivered model for rings/oral PrEP. The Kenya National AIDS/STI Control Program will review the design to optimize potential uptake and sustainability in routine care.
2. Conduct a type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial of PrEP My Way. The study team will enroll 432 women (age 16-24) in Kisumu, Kenya, and randomize them 1:1:1 to the full intervention vs the intervention without STI testing (i.e., to assess marginal impact of the most costly kit component beyond PrEP) vs enhanced standard of care. Women in the intervention will choose bimonthly (CAB-LA) or quarterly (ring/oral) delivery. The primary outcome will be PrEP persistence by recorded injection (CAB-LA) or drug levels (ring/oral) at 9 months in women with ongoing HIV prevention needs (i.e., self-reported desire for PrEP, self-reported HIV risk, condomless sex, and/or multiple sexual partners). Secondary/additional outcomes will be persistence and adherence at other time points and with alternative definitions of HIV prevention needs, STI (sexually transmitted infection) testing, and family planning use. Investigators will also track implementation, service, and client metrics per Proctor's framework.
3. Determine cost and cost-effectiveness of PrEP My Way. Analysts will conduct micro-costing analyses through time and motion studies and use published cost data, internal reports, and supply-chain data to determine the cost of delivering each PrEP formulation and support option and the marginal cost of STI testing. The team will also estimate the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio in terms of cost per woman with PrEP persistence.

Eligibility Criteria:
Inclusion Criteria:

* young women (age 16-24 years)
* initiating PrEP at the recruitment site (this criterion subsumes all necessary safety assessments for starting PrEP, including HIV-negative status and for those taking FTC/TDF normal renal function and lack of Hepatitis B infection)
* resident in Kisumu County
* phone ownership
* ability to understand KiSwahili, DhoLuo, and/or English

Exclusion Criteria:

* inability to provide informed consent (e.g., intoxication)