PRe-Exposure Prophylaxis Acceptability & Readiness Assessments for Toronto gaY, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men-5

Summary

Canada continues to see an unrelenting stream of new HIV diagnoses, with a disproportionate burden among gay, bisexual, and other MSM in major centers such as Toronto. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) with oral, daily tenofovir/emtricitabine (TDF/FTC, Truvada®) is a novel biomedical approach to HIV prevention shown in the iPrEx trial to be safe and efficacious in reducing HIV acquisition by 44% among MSM, when provided in a comprehensive package of HIV prevention interventions including counseling, testing/treatment of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and condoms. There is now widespread mobilization to assess the feasibility of PrEP roll-out worldwide, with urgent calls for 'demonstration projects' addressing real-world PrEP implementation issues. PREPARATORY-5 is Canada's first PrEP demonstration project, and will examine real-world PrEP implementation issues including acceptability, effectiveness, impact on sexually transmitted infections, and strategies for supporting adherence outside the clinical trial setting. The investigators have also established a comprehensive community-based research program investigating the role of community-based organizations in PrEP implementation and delivery.

Timeline

Start

2014-10

Primary completion

2016-06

Completion

2016-06

Publications

• Tan DHS, Schnubb A, Lawless J, Szadkowski L, Grennan T, Wilton J, Fowler S, Hart TA, Maxwell J, Raboud JM. Acceptability and tolerability of and adherence to HIV preexposure prophylaxis among Toronto gay and bisexual men: a pilot study. CMAJ Open. 2018 Dec 10;6(4):E611-E617. doi: 10.9778/cmajo.20180068. Print 2018 Oct-Dec.
• Wilton J, Noor SW, Schnubb A, Lawless J, Hart TA, Grennan T, Fowler S, Maxwell J, Tan DHS. High HIV risk and syndemic burden regardless of referral source among MSM screening for a PrEP demonstration project in Toronto, Canada. BMC Public Health. 2018 Feb 27;18(1):292. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5180-8.

Drugs

Indications