Prescribing pre-exposure prophylaxis therapy

Last month, the research round-up provided you with an overview of articles looking at the issue of prescribing cascades. This month we will investigate the prescribing of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) therapy for the prevention of HIV infection. The first article looks at PrEP prescribing in a primary care setting. The second article explores barriers and facilitators to the prescribing of PrEP in the UK. The final article this month looks at PrEP prescribing from a community pharmacy perspective in Canada.

This article, published in the Journal of Primary Care and Community Health, sought to understand the knowledge, attitudes and prescribing habits of clinicians in primary care around the prescribing of PrEP for HIV prevention.

The researchers used a cross-sectional survey approach, and included 16 rural and suburban practice settings across central Pennsylvania in January 2021. The survey was conducted anonymously, and was adapted from a previously published and verified survey tool consisting of 40 Likert scale questions. In total, 134 primary care providers were included for analysis. Most of those who responded admitted to little clinical experience with prescribing in this area (96.3%) and cared for five or fewer patients with HIV. However, there was a high overall knowledge of PrEP and of screening for STIs, but a lower amount of knowledge around side effects, laboratory needs and ongoing safety monitoring. With regard to attitudinal responses, most were positive in their attitude to PrEP use and felt it to be generally safe and effective. More than 50% of the respondents had been asked about PrEP by patients, but less than 40% had initiated this conversation with patients at attendance.