ePrEP
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Online HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) care: Developing and exploring the acceptability of an online PrEP pathway.
IRAS ID
293269
Contact name
Claudia Estcourt
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Glasgow Caledonian University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 31 days
Research summary
HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a new and effective way of preventing HIV where HIV-negative people take anti-HIV drugs before and after sex. PrEP has been delivered through Scottish sexual health clinics since 2017. People who take PrEP usually have to attend appointments every three months for check-ups and to collect their PrEP medication. PrEP has been very popular in Scotland and this has placed a strain on the sexual health clinics. New ways of providing PrEP services efficiently, in ways that PrEP users find convenient, are needed. Offering elements of PrEP care online could provide an appealing solution. An online PrEP service is currently in the early stages of development. With any new service, it is important to understand the views of people who might use this type of service and healthcare professionals who would deliver it. This research aims to find out what PrEP users and healthcare providers think about online PrEP care.
There are three linked studies: 1) interviews with PrEP users asking them what they think about online PrEP care; 2) cognitive interviews in which we ask PrEP users in detail about each part of a prototype online clinical consultation that would make up part of the online PrEP service; 3) focus groups or interviews with healthcare professionals involved in delivering PrEP care. Participants will be recruited through Sandyford Sexual Health Services. Participants for studies 1 and 2 will be recruited by healthcare professionals during clinic appointments and participants for study 3 will be recruited by key contacts at Sandyford. We will analyse findings from studies 1 and 3 with a technique called ‘framework thematic analysis’. We will analyse data from study 2 in a different way which involves adapting and editing the online consultation using information people give us in the cognitive interviews.
REC name
North of Scotland Research Ethics Committee 2
REC reference
21/NS/0044
Date of REC Opinion
22 Apr 2021
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion