Modeling the public health impact of using HIV ST for PrEP initiation

Funding has been awarded to principal investigator Dr. Monisha Sharma by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for "Modeling the public health impact of using HIV ST for PrEP initiation".

Abstract:

We propose to identify implementation conditions in which the benefits of adopting HIVST for PrEP initiation (e.g. increased PrEP initiation, lower HIV incidence) outweigh the potential drawbacks (e.g. delays in HIV diagnoses and linkage to ART, development of drug resistance among individuals with HIV who are initiated on PrEP). We will accomplish this goal in three parts: 1) conduct a scoping literature review to understand factors impacting the success of HIVST use for PrEP delivery, 2) model the population-level impact of plausible scenarios of HIVST use for PrEP initiation in Kenya and South Africa and 3) model the clinical impact of HIVST use for PrEP initiation in Kenya and South Africa based on measured field performance from a clinical trial in Kenya.