Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for Safer Conception among Serodifferent Couples: Findings from Healthcare Providers Serving Patients with HIV in Seven US Cities

Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can reduce the risk of HIV transmission among serodifferent couples trying to conceive, yet provider knowledge, attitudes, and experience utilizing PrEP for this purpose are largely unexamined. 

Trained interviewers conducted phone interviews with healthcare providers treating patients with HIV in seven cities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Newark, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, N = 85 total). 

Quantitative and qualitative data were analyzed to describe experience, concerns, and perceived barriers to prescribing PrEP for safer conception. Providers (67.1% female, 43 mean years of age, 70.4% white, 10 mean years treating HIV+ patients, 56% in academic vs. community facilities, 62.2% MD) discussed both benefits and concerns of PrEP for safer conception among serodifferent couples. 

Only 18.8% of providers reported experience prescribing PrEP, 74.2% were willing to prescribe it under ideal circumstances, and 7.0% were not comfortable prescribing PrEP. Benefits included added protection and a greater sense of control for the HIV-negative partner. Concerns were categorized as clinical, system-level, cost, or behavioral. 

Significant differences in provider characteristics existed across sites, but experience with PrEP for safer conception did not, p = 0.14. Despite limited experience, most providers were open to recommending PrEP for safer conception as long as patients understood the range of concerns and could make informed decisions. 

Strategies to identify and link serodifferent couples to PrEP services and clinical guidance specific to PrEP for safer conception are needed.

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By:  Finocchario-Kessler S1, Champassak S2, Hoyt MJ3, Short W4, Chakraborty R5, Weber S6, Levison J7, Phillips J3, Storm D3, Anderson J8.

• 1 Department of Family Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center , Kansas City, Kansas.
• 2 Health Services and Outcomes Research, Children's Mercy Hospital , Kansas City, Missouri.
• 3 François-Xavier Bagnoud Center, School of Nursing, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , Newark, New Jersey.
• 4 Division of Infectious Diseases, Perelman Schools of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 5 Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine , Atlanta, Georgia .
• 6 HIVE, University of California San Francisco , San Francisco, California.
• 7 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, Texas.
• 8 Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions , Baltimore, Maryland. 
• AIDS Patient Care STDS. 2016 Jan 29

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