PrEPTECH

Funder

Gilead Sciences

Funding Duration

September 2019 - June 2023

PL

Dr. Rebecca Braun

Description

PrEPTECH is an integrated, technology-based approach to increasing pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) uptake among young men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women. In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration approval of daily oral tenofovir and emtricitabine for PrEP to prevent HIV infection in high-risk individuals, offered a unique opportunity to curb the rising incidence of HIV infection in high-risk groups.

Working closely with community partners, ETR co-designed the PrEPTECH digital platform to integrate at-home lab testing, telemedicine appointments, an online pharmacy with at-home delivery, and a medication-adherence system, allowing users to bypass many of the barriers related to stigma, discrimination, and access. Given promising pilot findings, we launched a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of PrEPTECH in enhancing PrEP uptake and continuation among adolescent and young adult MSM and transgender women in California and Florida, who are disproportionately impacted by HIV, yet less likely to receive PrEP. Data collection is now complete, and we are analyzing findings for submission to peer-reviewed journals and other user-friendly dissemination products. We will also present study findings at the International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science (IAS 2023) and the International Society for Sexually Transmitted Diseases Research (ISSTDR 2023).

For more information about PrEPTECH, please contact Rebecca Braun at rebecca.braun@etr.org.

Citations

Refugio, ON, Kimble, MM, Silva, CL, Lykens, JE, Bannister, C, & Klausner, JD (2019). Brief Report: PrEPTECH: A Telehealth-Based Initiation Program for HIV Pre-exposure Prophylaxis in Young Men of Color Who Have Sex With Men. A Pilot Study of Feasibility. JAIDS Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes, 80(1). Retrieved from https://journals.lww.com/jaids/Fulltext/2019/01010/Brief_Report__PrEPTECH__A_Telehealth_Based.9.aspx

Braun R, Erenrich R, Doan P, Klausner J. (2023). Effectiveness, Acceptability, and Feasibility of a Telehealth Human Immunodeficiency Virus Pre-Exposure Prevention Care Intervention among Young Cisgender Men and Transgender Women who have Sex with Men: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Research Protocols, under review.