CRUSH-PrEP for Women Project

Uptake will be measured as the proportion of female patients at the LifeLong clinic who are approached that start PrEP after being offered PrEP, the numbers and rate of PrEP discontinuation, the reasons given for PrEP discontinuation (side effects, no longer at risk, fear of stigma, inability to adhere), and drug concentrations. Drug concentrations are monitored using dried blood spots, which have a large dynamic range capable of detecting use of a few pills every month up through daily use. The main measure of PrEP utilization is the proportion of time that PrEP is used effectively among those attempting to use PrEP.

The investigators are interested in characterizing the women who decide to take PrEP through this project. Demographic and psychosocial variables will be used to describe the population who enroll. Sexual and behavioral risk profiles of those who decide to initiate PrEP will also be described as part of this study. Demographics of women who uptake PrEP through community partners will also be compared to the demographics of Alameda County women who have incident HIV infection. In addition to demographics and risk behavior, the investigators will also describe the contraceptive use and intentions of women on PrEP towards future pregnancies as these may be important factors driving interest in PrEP among women.

Process data will capture the outreach efforts made to recruit participants for this study. At the time of baseline visit, the investigators will capture the source of referral for each woman screened, as well as the primary reason for joining the study. Enrollment progress will be carefully tracked against outreach activities to monitor the relationship between outreach efforts and demand generation. This will help to inform future implementation of PrEP among women.