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Stigma, ambivalence and other priorities – explaining poor adherence to PrEP and vaginal microbicides
Roger Pebody, 2014-09-19 08:20:00
HIV stigma, the danger of being mistakenly labelled as having HIV, ambivalence about the research process, confusion about the use of antiretrovirals to prevent infection, as well as the need to balance trial participation with other priorities and social relationships all shaped South African women’s experience of using pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or a microbicide gel within a clinical trial, according to a qualitative study.
The researchers sought to better understand the reasons for the disappointing results of the VOICE trial – one of the most ambitious studies of biomedical HIV prevention interventions for women ever conducted. Only a minority of trial participants had actually used the study product they had been given and the qualitative research aimed to find out why. VOICE’s results have raised significant questions about the applicability and appropriateness of microbicides and PrEP for women in African countries.
Ariane van der Straten, Jonathan Stadler and colleagues published the qualitative findings last week in the Journal of the International AIDS Society and also in a paper published earlier in the year in PLOS ONE.
Source:1
