HIV Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) awareness and use among Rakai Community Cohort Study youth aged 15-24.

Abstract

Background: Preventing HIV infections among adolescents and young adults (AYA) is crucial for curtailing the epidemic. Oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a highly effective prevention method increasingly available to this age group in sub-Saharan Africa but population-based data on awareness and use of PrEP among AYA remains limited.

Methods: Analyzing survey data from two rounds of the Rakai Community Cohort Study, an open, population-based cohort, we estimated prevalence ratios associating various sociodemographic characteristics with PrEP awareness and ever-use among 15- to 24-year-olds in south-central Uganda between 2018 and 2023.

Results: Most (62.4%, N=3,308/5,301) participants were aware of PrEP as an HIV prevention method but only 1.7% (N=133/7,999) of AYA had ever used it. Among the 35.5% (N=2,838/7,999) of participants meeting PrEP eligibility criteria, ever-use was similarly rare (2.6%, N=75/2,838). Compared to 20 to 24-year-olds, 15 to 19-year-olds were less likely to report awareness (fullyadjPR=0.82, 95%CI 0.78, 0.86) or ever-use (fullyadjPR=0.35, 95%CI 0.21, 0.58). Participants from fishing communities were more likely to be PrEP-aware (fullyadjPR=1.22, 95%CI 1.16, 1.29) or have ever used the prevention method (fullyadjPR=6.07, 95%CI 4.10, 8.98) than those from non-fishing communities.

Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study of AYA in Uganda, awareness of PrEP was common but ever-use was rare, even among the third of respondents who were likely PrEP-eligible. This suggests that prevention policies and barriers besides unawareness of the method impede PrEP initiation. Efforts that target those barriers, particularly for adolescents, are critical for reducing HIV incidence among this priority population.