- Published
- 23 April 2022
- Journal article
Maintaining access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in a pandemic: a service evaluation of telephone-based pre-exposure prophylaxis provision
- Authors
- Source
- International Journal of STD and AIDS
Abstract
Objectives: The objective was to perform a survey-based service evaluation of our telephone PrEP clinic (Tele-PrEP), which was instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic, to inform future service delivery. Methods: We administered parallel, web-based, anonymous surveys to PrEP-users who had a Tele-PrEP appointment between 13.11.2020 and 17.12.2020 and all healthcare professionals (HCPs) conducting Tele-PrEP clinics. We used descriptive statistics to summarise demographic and qualitative data, and thematically categorised free text responses using the Framework for a Systems Approach to Healthcare Delivery. Results: 62/117 (53%) PrEP-users and 8/9 (89%) HCPs completed the surveys. Tele-PrEP was rated ‘excellent’ or ‘good’ by 61/62 (98%) PrEP-users. All HCPs felt that Tele-PrEP allowed them to assess patients safely and confidently. 10/62 (16%) PrEP-users and 1 (11%) HCP expressed a preference for face-to-face care. Using the Framework for a Systems Approach to Healthcare Delivery we identified key areas important to respondents who highlighted the rapid changes as a result of COVID-19, which required an increase in dedicated resources. HCPs valued teamwork, support/supervision and convenience in achieving quality care for the patient, who in turn, valued convenient, holistic and individualised management to meet their sexual healthcare needs. Conclusion: Tele-PrEP is feasible and acceptable. While most respondents rated the service highly, others identified a need/preference for face-to-face appointments.
Rights
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
Cite as
Henderson, L., Gibbs, J., Quinn, J., Ramasami, S. & Estcourt, C. 2022, 'Maintaining access to HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis in a pandemic: a service evaluation of telephone-based pre-exposure prophylaxis provision', International Journal of STD and AIDS, 33(7), pp. 718-721. https://doi.org/10.1177/09564624211068766