Long-Acting Injectable ART and PrEP Among Women in Six Cities Across the United States: A Qualitative Analysis of Who Would Benefit the Most

• Published in: AIDS and behavior Vol. 26; no. 4; pp. 1260 - 1269
• Main Authors: Philbin, Morgan M., Bergen, Sadie, Parish, Carrigan, Kerrigan, Deanna, Kinnard, Elizabeth N., Reed, Sarah, Cohen, Mardge H., Sosanya, Oluwakemi, Sheth, Anandi N., Adimora, Adaora A., Cocohoba, Jennifer, Goparaju, Lakshmi, Golub, Elizabeth T., Vaughn, Michael, Gutierrez, José I., Fischl, Margaret A., Alcaide, Maria, Metsch, Lisa R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.04.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use; Antiretroviral drugs; Antiretroviral therapy; Candidates; Child care; Cities; Content analysis; Disease prevention; Female; Health behavior; Health Psychology; HIV; HIV Infections - drug therapy; HIV Infections - prevention & control; HIV Infections - psychology; Homeless people; Homelessness; Human immunodeficiency virus; Humans; Infectious Diseases; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Original Paper; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis; Psychological distress; Psychological stress; Public Health; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative research; Sexual behavior; Sexually transmitted diseases; STD; United States - epidemiology; Women; Womens health; Young adults; Youth; United States; Cities; United States > US; Women; HIV/AIDS; Qualitative research; Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP); Long-acting injectable (LAI); Antiretroviral therapy (ART)
• ISSN: 1090-7165; 1573-3254; 1573-3254
• DOI: 10.1007/s10461-021-03483-7

Long-acting injectable (LAI) modalities have been developed for ART and PrEP. Women face unique barriers to LAI use yet little research has examined women’s perceptions of potential LAI HIV therapy candidates. We conducted 89 in-depth interviews at six Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) sites with women living with HIV (n = 59) and HIV-negative women (n = 30) from 2017 to 2018. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Participants identified specific sub-populations who could most benefit from LAI over daily pills: (1) young people; (2) women with childcare responsibilities; (3) people with adherence-related psychological distress; (4) individuals with multiple sex partners; and (5) people facing structural insecurities such as homelessness. Women are underserved by current HIV care options and their perspectives are imperative to ensure a successful scale-up of LAI PrEP and LAI ART that prioritizes equitable access and benefit for all individuals.