Sutcliffe, E., Fischer, J., Cashman, C., Doyle-Adams, S., Downing, Sandra, Elliot, M., Lukies, S., Pratt, R., Rodriguez, M., Yegenah, S., and Russell, D. (2017) How was it for you? The first three months on the Queensland Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (QPrEPd) demonstration trial. In: [Presented at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2017]. From: Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2017, 6-8 November 2017, Canberra, ACT, Australia.

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Abstract

Background: In the eighth month since the QPrEPd project rolled out across Queensland, 22 clinical sites have recruited 1695 participants. This paper describes the pattern of pill taking and experiences of participants from enrolment to month three.

Methods: Surveys undertaken by participants were confidential. In order to encourage honesty, clinicians did not have access to their clients' responses. Data was analysed descriptively and results were compared between entry and 3 month visits.

Results: 832 QPrEPd participants have completed the 3 month survey. 70% of participants felt more sexually empowered whilst taking PrEP. Patients preferred to take their PrEP medication in the morning, 87% found the pills "completely acceptable" and 81% of participants were completely comfortable taking pills. Interestingly, 69% of participants took their pills on a regular basis and 92% reported good compliance by taking their pills every day between study visits. Only 7.8% of participants preferred to take intermittent PrEP rather than continuous daily doses and 83% of these participants used condoms during the period they were intentionally not taking PrEP.

68% of participants surveyed never reported any side effects with their PrEP, whilst only 2.5% reported side-effects "most" or "all of the time". Surprisingly, 77% of participants did not increase their number of sexual partners, 31% reported that PrEP did not change their sex life and only 28.3% agreed that taking PrEP changed their sexual risk taking behaviour. 81% strongly agreed "STI checks are needed every 3 months while taking PrEP" and only 2.1% "strongly disagreed" with this statement.

Conclusion: So far QPrEPd has found that participants are proactive in preventing HIV, whilst still enjoying their sexual freedom. It will be exciting to see how the result patterns unravel during the demonstration project over the next few years.

Item ID:	56979
Item Type:	Conference Item (Poster)
Related URLs:	https://www.ashm.org.au/
Date Deposited:	04 Dec 2019 00:15
FoR Codes:	11 MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES > 1117 Public Health and Health Services > 111799 Public Health and Health Services not elsewhere classified @ 100%
SEO Codes:	92 HEALTH > 9204 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) > 920499 Public Health (excl. Specific Population Health) not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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